Life of a Moony Lover: Year 5, Splits
by PonygalBlack0911
Summary: Amy Griffon, the fifth Marauder has begun her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The wizarding world is in turmoil and even Hogwarts is in danger. With O.W.L's and dangerous pranks, it certainly won't be a boring year! COMPLETE
1. The Hogwarts Express

_Hi Readers! This is the third installment in my series. Reviews are always appreciated and I am open to mail with any queries or issues with the story. The two prequels are complete and not necessary to read prior to this although it may give you more background to the story. Thanks!_

_I don't own Harry Potter_

* * *

It was a cold, wet and dreary Autumn morning. The sky was cloudy and grey. The wind rattled window panes and stripped trees of their leaves.

My mother and I sheltered beneath an umbrella as we darted from the car park to King Cross Station. Before long, we had a ceiling above our heads so I took down my hood and shook my hair out.

My mother and I looked rather alike. We were both quite short and I had inherited her wavy brunette hair. My hair now reached past my waist whilst my mother's barely touched her shoulders.

However, I had my father's amber wolfish eyes. My father had been a werewolf. Had. He died in my second year of Hogwarts due to fatal injuries he had incurred due to the transformation. It had been the worst time of my life.

I was shaken out of my thoughts by familiar strong arms wrapping around me and spinning me around. It was none other than Sirius Black. He hadn't changed much. He was now over six foot tall, towering over me. His long black hair was styled to perfection and his haughty grey eyes had a glint of amusement in them as his hands strayed dangerously near my arse. I smacked him, half amused, half annoyed.

Sirius Black was breathtakingly handsome, and he knew it. He had earned himself quite a reputation for a diversity of reasons. Firstly, he was the heir to the 'noble' house of Black, one of the wealthiest and most influential pureblood families in the world. Centuries of Blacks had been sorted into Slytherin only. That is until Sirius came along. After an unusually long sorting he was put in Gryffindor. And boy was he proud of that feat.

Secondly, he was a member of the infamous Marauders. We were well known for our inventive pranks, cheekiness, clever retorts, spontaneous food fights and of course, the shouting matches between a certain messy haired boy and green eyed girl.

Third, Sirius Black has been with more girls than any other boy his age. It only took a wink and a grin on his behalf for three out of four girls (and several boys too) to happily agree to snog him.

Fourth, Sirius Black was beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He had sent more people to the hospital wing with a beater's bat and bludger than anyone else. Needless to say, he isn't on great terms with Madame Pomfrey.

"Sirius, leave the girl alone", a voice scolded. I clambered to my feet and turned around. Remus. He had also grown over the summer and was almost as tall as Sirius. His sandy hair fell into his chocolate eyes. His pale face was marred by countless scars and scrapes that never faded away. I hugged him too, inhaling the permanent aroma of chocolate that seemed to envelope him. I couldn't help but notice the shiny Prefect's badge pinned to the breast pocket of his jacket.

"Um, hi Mrs. Griffon", Remus stuttered hastily removing his arms from around my waist when he saw my mum. She chuckled and hugged the two boys.

"Where are the other two hooligans?" She asked with a laugh, "And Lily".

"There", I pointed.

Sure enough, James Potter was standing by the wall and as per usual, was in a verbal argument with the 'love of his life' Lily Evans. James was tall and lanky with black hair that always stood on end as though he had been electrocuted. His hazel eyes were currently surveying the young witch in front of him. Unfortunately for him, the girl in question noticed.

"Don't you dare look at me like that, Potter", she hissed, her emerald green eyes narrowed. Lily too had grown over the Summer, in more ways than one as James' delighted eyes illustrated. Her wavy red hair was as long as mine now and she had a fresh smatter of freckles across her nose.

"Ah, Evans, you know you can't resist much longer." James said arrogantly, "Go to Hogsmeade with me".

"How many times does it take to penetrate that inflated head of yours? The last time you asked me I refused and the million other times before that. I will say no if you ask tomorrow and I say no now. Just leave me alone!" Lily ranted. She turned on her heel and stormed off to the Prefects' carriage.

"Um, hi James", I greeted and gave him a hug. "Where's Pete?"

"Here!" Came a slightly squeaky voice. A short chubby boy rounded the corner and headed towards us, his blue eyes alight with joy to see us again. I smiled warmly and we greeted him.

We hauled our trunks into the storage and held our owls (or in Peter's case, clutched a manky rat called Dustin) in our hands. I turned to say goodbye to my mother and wasn't surprised to see that she was crying. I too had tears in my eyes.

"Goodbye Mum, I'll write every second day. Look after yourself", I said as I hugged her.

"You better. Don't get into too much trouble. Look out for her boys", she teased.

"We will", Remus assured her.

"Bye Amy", she said sadly.

The boys and I boarded the train, grabbing the first empty compartment we came to. I flopped down beside Moony. It was time to get down to business.

Our project since 2nd Year had been the animagus transformation. Remus was a werewolf and once every month, endured an excruciating transformation into the wolf. As if that wasn't bad enough, he would then proceed to bite chunks of his own flesh out. If he were to bite a human, then they too would be infected. There was no known cure.

In 2nd Year, I had come up with the idea that James, Sirius and I become animagi. If we were capable of becoming animals than we could spend the full moons with Remus and hopefully distract him from self-harm.

Unfortunately, the becoming an animagi was the most complicated transfiguration known to the wizarding world. We had managed to source reliable books in our 2nd Year which led us to discovering our 'inner animal'. James is a stag, Sirius a dog, Peter a rat and I am a wolf. These led to the nicknames 'Prongs', 'Padfoot', 'Wormtail', and 'Faolan'.

We had finally completed the dreaded meditation stage

in our 4th Year. It had lasted 17 months. It had been tedious, relentless and very tiresome, designed to test how much you wanted to become an animagus whilst preparing your body for the permanent change. The only thing that had kept us at it were the new scars and the black bags Remus always sported just after the Transformation.

According to our research, we had finally reached the final stage of the procedure. It was also the most dangerous part. We had to physically change our bodies, one limb at a time. If it went wrong, it would be disastrous. We could get stuck permanently and have to go around with a tail for the rest of our lives. Not very desirable.

But we were Marauders and we were determined. Besides, it was all for Moony.


	2. A Certain Ravenclaw

Hi Readers! Thanks so much for the reviews, they're very much appreciated.

Just to answer Animagus of a Doe's question, I skipped years 3 and 4 simply because they were unnecessary in the overall plot. I would only have bored both readers and myself by writing a fanfiction that had no plot.

Just to inform you that this installment should be 30 chapters long with 1-2 updates every week.

* * *

The sorting this year was uneventful. Except for one thing. There were far more Slytherins this year. Remus too had obviously noticed this for his gaze was trained on the snakes' table as he surveyed the oblivious 1st years a little sadly.

There was the evidence. People were terrified. There hadn't been a Death Eater attack in ten days and the tension could be sliced with a knife. Who would they target next? Were they planning a huge raid?

The ministry was corrupted. Mum said that Minister for Magic William Archibald was useless and didn't know what to do. James' dad had been promoted in the Auror department, second only to the infamous Alastor Moody.

Last years' Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor had resigned. One could easily make an educated guess that his resignation was due to the war.

Dumbledore had introduced the new teacher as Professor Avaline Tyrell. She had stood up and bowed to the half-hearted applause of the hall. She was a formidable height for a woman, definitely over six feet. Her frame was tanned, lean and muscular. Her eyes were small and piercing as she surveyed the hall. Her hair was long and dark, pulled back from her face in a ponytail. Unlike the other members of staff, she had opted instead to wear tighter fitted clothes and did not wear a cloak. This received many approving murmurs from the male population of Hogwarts. Sirius wolf-whistled.

I was just wondering what Defence class would be like tomorrow which meant that I didn't see where I was going and walked straight into someone. I lost my balance and only a pair of arms prevented me from breaking my nose on the tiles.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going", I apologised, looking up.

Wow. Wow with a capital 'W'. In front of me was perhaps the most stunningly handsome boy I had ever seen in my life.

He was definitely over six feet tall. His arms were tanned and muscular and much to my delight, still resting on my hips. His hair was golden and clipped short, somehow accenting his angular features. His eyes were as blue as the Ravenclaw tie he was wearing. Most importantly, his hands were still on my hips!

"Don't worry about it, I don't think we've met before, although I have to admit, your reputation precedes you Amy. I'm Liam Donovan." He said in a voice that was laced with the hint of an Irish accent.

"I thought that Sirius was the one with a reputation", I smiled, hoping that I didn't have food caught in my teeth.

"He's not the only one. That prank on the Slytherin's last year was fantastic, who thought of the one where you charmed their shoes to say 'Slytherin's smell' for a week?"

"That was my idea, although we all worked on the charming", I laughed.

"Disrupted my study for OWL's but it was worth it. Got into all the classes I wanted to." He replied.

Interesting, he was a 6th year. Stay calm Amy.

"Merlin, please don't talk to me about OWL's. I'm failing potions as it is and I need Exceeds Expectations in it to be able to continue Potions for NEWT's. I want to be an Auror."

"Ambitious", he grinned, "Funny,that. Potions is my best subject. Got an O in it. Tell you what, I can help you with Potions if you help me with Defence Against The Dark Arts. I hear you're good at it, I'm dreadful".

"You've got yourself a deal", I confirmed, "Meet you at 7 o'clock on Wednesday outside the Great Hall."

"Brilliant, thanks Amy. I look forward to it", he said, smiling slightly. I willed my legs to keep me standing and begged my stomach to settle. Stomachs were meant to help digest food not go for an Olympic gold medal for gymnastics.

Wednesday. That left me with two days to prepare. What would he need help on? I needed help and there was only one person up to the job. Lily Evans.

I sprinted through the corridor, this time watching where I was going, towards Gryffindor tower.

"Giant Squid", I huffed to the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open.

I flew through the common room, leaving the bewildered Marauders behind. Thankfully, only Lily was in our dormitory. I didn't need Alice's, Marlene's and Emmeline's questions at that precise moment.

"Lily", I gasped. "Need help. Now."

She nodded and sat down on my bed beside me.

"Amy, what's wrong? What happened?" She asked urgently, worry lines appearing on her forehead.

"Nothing's wrong! Everything's right!" I laughed. "You know Liam Donovan. Ravenclaw 6th Year."

"Yeah, Alice said that he got all O's in his OWL's".

"Well, he agreed to tutor me in Potions if I helped him with Defence Against the Dark Arts. I'm meeting him on Wednesday."

"He likes you!" Lily declared, clapping her hands together with excitement.

I frowned. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Well now, he hardly needs help in a subject he got an O in, does he?" Lily rationalised.

"I suppose not…"

"Do you like him?" She asked suddenly.

I could feel the colour rising to my cheeks.

"Well, he, um, seems like a nice guy. And, eh, he is kind of good looking and all", I stuttered.

"You so like him!" Lily sang, "What will you wear?"

"That, my friend, is where you come in."

* * *

Within two hours, our dorm looked as though Death Eaters had attacked it. I half expected to see the dreaded Dark Mark in the air. We had also enlisted the help of the aforementioned dorm mates.

Alice Summer was a petite, happy-go-lucky character whom everyone liked. She had a round face, mischievous blue eyes and short, tomboyish hair.

Marlene McKinnon had once been a quiet girl who had kept to herself. But puberty had been kind to her and her new figure gave her confidence. She was now out-spoken and boisterous. She sported, long golden hair and eyes the colour of the sea.

Emmeline Vance generally kept to herself. She specialised in Ancient Runes and possessed that rare ability of staying awake and somewhat attentive in History of Magic. She had shoulder length chestnut hair and warm brown eyes.

Eventually, it was decided that less was more and that I shouldn't look as if I were trying too hard (as if). Marlene discovered a royal blue top that fitted nicely, showing just a hint of cleavage. According to her, the fact that blue was his house colour would make it more appealing to him.

This was teamed with white shorts which Alice cheekily rolled up to 'show off those legs'. The look was completed with a pair of blue muggle 'converse' borrowed off Lily. Marlene insisted upon doing my hair and Emmeline offered to do my make-up.

I was lucky to have such good friends.


	3. Professor Tyrell

_Hi Readers! A million thanks to reviewers. Constructive criticism is more than welcome as always. Please review!_

* * *

The first lesson the next morning was Defence Against the Dark Arts. As per usual when a new teacher was appointed, students were on time for the first class and sat down somewhat apprehensively at a desk. I found myself in the back row between Sirius and Remus.

At precisely nine o'clock, the door swung open and Professor Tyrell strode in briskly. She whipped out a wand and hit it with force against her desk causing everyone to jump in surprise and eye her warily. She was clearly big on first impressions.

Up closer, Professor Tyrell was evidently experienced in the battlefield. Her exposed flesh was riddled with varying scars and her arm was held at a very odd angle. There was no disguising the underlying sadness in her eyes. She had witnessed horrors.

I just prayed that she was willing and capable of teaching us how to deal with these horrors.

"Good morning 5th years", she said in a surprisingly deep voice for a woman. She did not smile.

"Good morning Professor", we chorused back. We being the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws.

"I am Professor Tyrell. I am here to teach for a year whilst I recuperate from battle injuries. I am an Auror. I demand your utmost respect, attention and co-operation, especially during practical classes."

"I have studied both your reports and results and have organised a seating arrangement. You will be partnered with someone close to your ability to ensure that you are challenged suitably and can reach your full potential. Please stand beside your partner when your name is called."

A general groan swept through the classroom.

"Peter Pettigrew, Anne Wright", Peter sighed as he was partnered with the shy, dim Ravenclaw girl who looked equally downcast as her partner.

"Sirius Black, Remus Lupin".

"Yes!" Sirius cheered, punching the air. Remus grinned.

"James Potter, Lily Evans".

"You've GOT to be joking!" Lily protested. I could see James silently thanking Merlin for his luck.

The list continued, I remained single.

"And those are the partners for this year." Tyrell called out.

"Professor", I raised my hand, "I don't have a partner".

"Well now Miss Griffon, I thought the answer to that would be obvious. I shall be your partner for the foreseeable future." She lowered her voice, "You have shown an unusual level of skill for someone so young and untrained. I expect great things from you, as do the other members of staff including the Headmaster."

I blinked in surprise.

"Now class", she boomed, "Today will be a practical lesson. According to the information I was supplied with, you should all be capable of disarming and stunning your opponent. Today we shall learn Impedimenta which when used correctly, temporarily freezes your opponent. This gives you an invaluable head start which can be the difference between life and death. Watch carefully."

She flicked her wand deftly and jabbed it at an angle.

"Now, Miss Griffon, why don't you give it a try? Aim for me."

I nodded and stepped forward. I concentrated on the results I wanted as I mimicked Professor Tyrell's movements. She froze for about 20 seconds before it wore off.

"Excellent, 10 points to Gryffindor. Everyone, take in turns with your partners. A word if you please, Miss Griffon", Professor Tyrell called out.

The room was instantly full of streaking beams of light and the general noise that always went along with practical lessons. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lily hex James impecably, a huge Marauder-worthy grin on her face.

"Amy", Professor Tyrell said seriously, "I couldn't help but notice that you cast that spell non verbally".

I blinked. "Did I?"

"Yes", she looked surprised, "Didn't you know? Can you stun me right now?"

"Okay", I answered and reluctantly stunned her. Now that I was aware of it, I realised that I hadn't uttered a word.

"Ennervate", I murmured and helped the woman to her feet.

"Amy", she said quietly, unable to hide the astonishment on her face, "Amy, I haven't seen someone with natural talent like that for a while. Would you meet me in my office every Thursday evening at 6 o'clock? I think that you would benefit from private duelling lessons. The world needs some warriors like you."

"Definitely Professor", I smiled, "I want to be an Auror".

"You'll make an excellent one. I just hope that the Ministry is in order by the time you're ready to join the ranks." She said grimly. She watched the class as they struggled with the Impediment jinx. James, Sirius, Lily and Remus were the only Gryffindors to conquer the jinx and just three Ravenclaws were capable.

"How can I do non-verbal magic?" I suddenly asked, "I never practiced it or even tried to do it. It just happened."

"Well I have a theory", Professor Tyrell said softly so that no one would overhear. "I believe that your magic is so strong and boisterous that it was bored and needed an outlet, a challenge. It's a bit like accidental magic during your childhood."

She whipped around suddenly as though a thought had struck her.

"Have you ever tried wandless magic?" She asked.

"No", I answered, "very few witches or wizards can do that though. My mum said that Professor Dumbledore can though."

"Your mum is right. Put your wand on the ground and step away from it. Try to levitate the quill on the desk beside you. Non-verbal, if you please." She instructed.

I placed my wand on the wooden floor and guiltily took two steps away from it. I turned to face the peacock feather quill in front of me.

_ Wingardium Leviosa. Wingardium Leviosa. Wingardium Leviosa._

I repeated it my head over and over again, picturing the swish and flick of a wand. I imagined a bird flying, a feather floating.

The quill rolled over, stubbornly refusing to rise. I silently cursed and concentrated so hard that I feared that my head would explode.

It hovered. One inch. Three inches. A foot. Two feet off the desk. I grunted and let it fall. My legs gave way and I crashed to the ground.

"I'm okay", I said as Remus pulled me to my feet. Professor Tyrell was staring at me with an astonished look on her face.

"Class dismissed", she declared.

"6 o'clock Thursday, my office." She said and left us in the room.


	4. The Wolf Howls

_Hi Readers! Again, _**please review_. _**_Enjoy the chapter._

* * *

I barely made it out of the classroom before I was pulled aside by a curious James Potter. Needless to say, the rest of the Marauders and Lily were gathered nearby.

"What's going on?" He cut to the chase.

"Why are you 'partners' with Professor Tyrell?" Peter asked curiously.

"Well apparently I'm good at Defence and she wanted to challenge me a bit."

"Why are you meeting with her on Thursday?" Lily questioned.

"Can we talk about this later? We're going to be late for Transfiguration," I moaned.

"No Miss Griffon, you're going to explain now", Sirius said cheekily, draping an arm around my shoulder. Sirius had become increasingly fond of physical contact over the past while. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I can do non-verbal magic." I confessed reluctantly, "And I just about managed wandless non-verbal magic too. Happy now?"

"Fine, but you'll have to elaborate later", Remus said.

"I will."

* * *

Transfiguration was spent listening to McGonagall lecture on about O.W.L's, taking down notes and moaning about the amount of homework assigned by the strict deputy Headmistress.

We were going to the Great Hall for lunch when Sirius brought up a subject that I was dreading.

"What's this I've been hearing about you and a certain Liam Donovan?" He said mockingly.

Remus and James stopped abruptly.

"Nothing", I answered a little too quickly. James' eyes narrowed in suspicion. I could feel my cheeks redden, they practically screamed 'embarrassment'.

"Nothing she says", Sirius continued, "And yet her cheeks match Evans' hair."

"We're just helping each other with schoolwork", I said lamely.

"That's not what the Ravenclaws are saying. Apparently Donovan has fancied the pants off you for ages!" Sirius joked, revelling in my mortification.

"Leave her alone Sirius, Merlin knows we don't tease you about your fan club and, um, experiences", Moony came to my recue.

"At least not that often", James added under his breath.

"Right, Amy you stay here whilst the boys and I have a little manly chat with Donovan", James ordered.

"WHAT?" I yelled, causing several students to look at us curiously. I lowered my voice, but it was by no means less aggressive. "You will do no such thing! I appreciate your concern, honestly I do. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

"I don't like him", Remus said.

"Neither do I", James swiftly agreed, "His nose is too wide."

"His eyes are too close together", Sirius added.

"He has smelly feet", Peter said solemnly.

I forgot my witty retort and shot a questioning look at Peter, concerned for his sanity.

"Liam Donovan is a perfectly nice bloke", I defended, "His nose is not too wide, his eyes are not too close together, and", I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, "I'm pretty certain that he doesn't have smelly feet either."

"How do you know?" Peter asked.

"I don't, I'm just assuming", I replied smartly.

"Well what is he tutoring you in?" James interrogated. Honestly, he took his overly protective brother role way too seriously.

"Potions, you know how crap I am at that".

"Well we can't deny that one", Remus said bitterly. What was his problem? Moony was always supportive, what had I done to deserve that snappy tone.

"What are you teaching him?" Peter asked as James shot Remus a quizzical look.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts, he heard I was good at that", I replied a little smugly.

"A little? You could teach the class! Non-verbal magic, wandless magic…" Peter listed off, sounding slightly in awe of my rare abilities.

"Oh, for the name of Merlin would you all just shut up!" Remus suddenly shouted aggressively. His eyes widened with shock, he obviously had no control over his outburst. I took a wobbly step backwards.

"You", he pointed at Sirius, "Stop harassing Amy the whole time, she obviously doesn't want you."

"But-"

Remus ploughed on.

"You", he directed at James, "Quit with the over protective brother act. We all know that Amy can defend herself better than we could protect her. Give her space."

"But-"

Yet again, Remus ignored the interruption.

"You", he aimed at Peter, "Speak for yourself and for Godric's sake, stop hanging off every word that leaves everyones' mouths. Stop relying on them for everything!"

"But-"

Remus angrily spun around to face me.

"You. Open your bloody eyes at what is blatantly obvious in front of you!"

My mouth opened to protest but he stormed away.

* * *

** REMUS POV:**

The words had slipped out of my mouth on their own accord. Once I started, I couldn't stop. I knew that what I said was hurtful, but these thoughts had been coursing through my mind and for some reason, that nerve that filtered what should be said aloud from what shouldn't failed me at the worst of times and because of it, I had hurt my friends.

Sirius' eyes had widened at my outburst. James had paled significantly. Peter's bottom lip jutted out and wobbled. Amy, her eyes had filled with tears.

They hadn't even known what had triggered my rant and there was absolutely no way I would tell them.

I loved Amy Griffon. And not in a brotherly way. I knew that there was no way we had a future together as partners. I would never allow myself to indulge in my own pleasures if it meant condemning her to a life as an outcast from society and hinder her chance of becoming an Auror like she dreamed.

When I heard about Liam Donovan I knew he was looking to be more than a 'study partner'. According to the other Ravenclaws he was a genuinely nice guy but naturally I disliked him instantly. This dude was robbing the wolf inside me of his mate!

I knew that it was only a matter of time before someone made a move on her. She was a stunning girl with her chocolate coloured hair, captivating golden eyes, heart shaped face, heart-shaped face and womanly curves. Needless to say, she had attracted male attention before and I was positive that she wasn't completely innocent but she had never had a proper boyfriend before.

Unfortunately, that only made it break my heart even more. I could never be that lucky guy.

I knew that someday in the future, she would get married to some handsome young man with a successful career and sufficient wealth. A lucky man like Sirius who would willingly take on this role. They would probably have children together. Start a family.

Where would I be? In the muggle world, hiding from the wolf within? Working as a bin man? Would the wolf finally succeed in killing me? My future was misty, where as hers was crystal clear.

I stopped walking and leant against the wall, sliding down to the ground. My exterior composure finally crumbled and I felt tears sting my eyes as my vision blurred. I pounded the ground with my fists, hot, salty tears streaming down my scarred cheeks.

Life was painfully unfair.


	5. Detective Sirius Black

_Hi Readers! Again, thanks a million for reviews. This update is earlier than planned so the next may be delayed. **Please review!**_

* * *

"You. Open your bloody eyes at what is blatantly obvious in front of you!" He had angrily turned on me before he ran off.

Tears that had been threatening to fall finally slid down my face and I choked on a sob.

What did it mean? What is 'blatantly obvious'. I was vigilant enough. What had I overlooked?

Sirius pulled me into his chest, stroking my hair gently as I wept into his shirt. They were clearly as upset and confused by Remus' outburst. Remus Lupin had always had secrets, and we had always discovered them. What was he hiding from us now?

"What did we do? What did I do?" I choked out.

The boys exchanged worried looks.

"I don't know Amy", James said truthfully, his voice uncharacteristically solemn and mournful.

I glanced up at Sirius. "What about you, Padfoot, any ideas?" Sirius just shook his head, his jaw set in a firm line and his grip on me tightened.

"Padfoot, are you feeling alright?" Peter asked concernedly.

* * *

**Sirius POV:**

How had I not noticed it before? I had spent my entire life watching my own back. As a child, I had been hexed and beaten up by my insane parents. In the Summer of 1st Year when I first went home after being Sorted into Gryffindor was the worst time of my life. I had barely entered the house before my father grabbed me by the collar and subjected me to the Cruciatus curse. They had done it before of course, they were always big on 'discipline' but this time was different. The hatred in their eyes made me shudder.

Only one person heard me scream. Regulus.

Regulus had stood there and watched. Watched as his father tortured his only brother until he was on the verge of insanity.

I had screamed until it felt as though my vocal cords would split in half. As the Summer went on, I developed not an immunity, but a resist against it. I no longer screamed, I wouldn't give my parents that satisfaction. Instead, I bit my lip until it bled. I still had a scar on my lip from the time that I bit through it.

As I thrashed on the ground like a fish out of water, I filled my pain riddled mind with images and memories of my friends. James, my brother in all but blood. Remus, as loyal as you could get. Peter, the sidekick. Amy, my little sister.

I quickly became capable of guessing when they would try to torture me. I would hide as well as I could and even became adept at dodging the curses which provided my parents with endless entertainment.

Then, one day in the Summer a year ago, they did something that almost broke my heart. Regulus had just finished his 1st year in Hogwarts. He had passed all of his exams with excellent grades and needless to say, was Sorted into Slytherin. He excelled in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Emphasis on the Dark Arts.

They called Regulus into the room and ordered him to torture me. I had been rooted to the spot and met my brother's gaze. His once lively, childish silver eyes were a lifeless grey as though they had died. My little brother had raised his wand directly at my heart and said in a monotonal voice, 'crucio'.

As I rolled on the ground, for the first time in years I had screamed. Not because of the pain, it was almost mild compared to the usual agony, but because my brother had finally succumbed to the Dark Arts and I hadn't seen it coming. I was powerless in preventing the tears escaping my eyes.

I hadn't foreseen this either. I should have.

Remus Lupin fancied Amy Griffon.

It was 'blatantly obvious' as had he had so delicately put it. It explained so many things: their matching wolf patronuses, the fact that he never left her side and his bad mood today. Remus was upset because of Liam Donovan. Knowing Moony, he would never make a move on Amy. He was too selfless and noble to.

Remus would never get a paying job in the magical world. It was not due to incompetence, but prejudice towards people with his condition. He would barely manage to make ends meet and in his eyes, he would never be able to treat Amy like she deserved. He just wouldn't be able to afford to. Sure, I have no doubt that we will offer him money, but he would never take it.

Moony would never allow anyone to have his children. He had never voiced it, but he feared passing on the werewolf gene to any children that he would father. He was so selfless that he would never get involved in a long term relationship with a girl who would without doubt want children in the future.

Clearly, he was jealous of Liam Donovan, and who could blame him? Despite the fact that Remus' grades matched or even surpassed the Ravenclaw's, he would never get a job with the same salary. Despite how brilliant a husband and father Remus would be, he would never get a chance to be in that position.

For the first time, Remus was bitter and Sirius couldn't blame him for it.

"I'm fine, Wormtail", I answered, "You guys go on ahead. I'll go after Moony".

They reluctantly obeyed and I took out the Marauder's Map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good".

Remus was in the Shrieking Shack. I quickly raced outdoors and levitated a stick to freeze the Whomping Willow. I bent double to avoid banging my head off the low ceiling in the passage as I made my way towards the dot labelled 'Remus Lupin'.

He was there, crouched in the corner. His eyes were red and puffy, his eyes broken. He looked so miserable.

"You love her", I said. It was a statement, not a question. Remus jumped, so preoccupied that he hadn't heard me enter.

"Who?" He asked fearfully, already knowing the answer.

"Amy. Remus, what does Faolan mean?" It was her Marauder's nickname that Remus had come up with.

"It means 'little wolf' and originated in Ireland", he answered automatically. "Her dad used to call her that before he died".

"Does she know?" I found myself asking.

"About the nickname or that I love her?"

"Both"

"She doesn't know either. Oh Merlin, Sirius, what the hell have I done?" He said helplessly. I wrapped a brotherly arm around his shoulder as the solemn boy with scars and dark secrets broke down for the second time that day.


	6. The Connection

Hi Readers! **Please review**, it makes my day! Currently having a b last writing a later chapter, it's so lo ng that I decided to divide it into two separate chapters, chapter 13 and 14. E njoy.

* * *

Neither Remus nor Sirius returned to the Gryffindor tower that night. Sirius had the map so we couldn't even see where t hey were. James, Peter and I stayed awa ke in the common room, holding a silent vigil until eventually tiredness set in and we dropped off to sleep.

My sleep was plagued with the memories o f the argument that had occurred earlier that evening. I tossed and turned fitfu lly, almost falling off the sofa.

I had never, in all the years I had know n him seen Remus Lupin look so furious, agitated and upset. What had we done to cause his rage? I prayed to Merlin that Sirius found him and managed to rational ise with him. The hope diminished. Siriu s, rationalise? They were both probably in the Hospital Wing!

"Amy, are you awake?" James whispered.

"Yeah", I said sleepily, turning around to face him.

"Budge over". I moved over and he lay do wn beside me.

"Moony is keeping secrets again", I stat ed quietly.

"Yeah, he's good at that. But he hasn't gotten one past us yet, so it's only a m atter of time before we figure it out." James said reassuringly.

A comfortable silence descended upon us, only interrupted by Peter's loud snores .

"James, can I show you something?" I ask ed.

"Sure".

"Follow me". I took his hand and lead hi m to the window where we were illuminate d by the moonlight. I closed my eyes and concentrated really hard.

"Woah! When did you learn how to do that ?" James gasped in admiration.

I saw my reflection in a mirror. Two taw ny wolf ears were at the top of my head and a long, fluffy tail appeared on my a rse. As I was looking, coffee coloured f ur erupted along my neck. That was as fa r as I had gotten.

"I was working on it during the Summer. It's wandless, so the ministry can't det ect it. I only got the tail last week", I told him. He was absolutely gobsmacked .

"What did you get first?" He asked curio usly.

"The fur on my neck, and then I got reck less and tried the ears and then the tai l."

"What should I start with?" He thought a loud.

"Probably ears like I did, or a patch of fur." I suggested, "Don't go messing wi th antlers or legs until you're almost f ully transformed. We don't want you look ing like some of those pictures in the b ook of people who got stuck in between h uman and animagus".

"Will you show me how you did it? I want to try", James gushed enthusiastically. 

"Now?"

"Yeah, why not? There's no one here but Wormtail and he's snoring his head off." James shrugged.

"Well alright then", I said, "Try transf iguring a patch of fur on your stomach. I take it that you read the chapter and know how to."

"Of course I know how to!" He insisted.

I removed my wolfish features and talked James through the procedure, repeating the partial transformation several times with him watching closely.

"Ok, I think I get it. I'll give it a go ." He said, his hazel eyes shining with excitement.

He closed his eyes tightly, his jaw set in a firm line, his forehead crinkled wi th concentration. Several minutes passed . James let out a gasp and his eyes sna pped open. He lifted the bottom of his Q uidditch t-shirt up to reveal his tanned , toned stomach that had a small patch o f mahogany fur in the centre of it.

It was absurd, to say the least, watchin g fur sprout along his stomach at an unn atural pace until there was an uneven sq uare about 6 inches across.

"This is mad!" James laughed quietly, "I t tickles!"

"Okay, well that's the easy part", I sai d seriously, trying to prevent my lips f rom twitching, "The hard part is getting back to normal. Maybe you shouldn't hav e done so much for your first time. I ho pe you can get rid of it."

The smile slid off his face so rapidly t hat I expected someone to announce that the force of gravity had increased.

"You mean I could be stuck like this?" H e shrieked like a girl. "With a face mad e in heaven, sexy windswept hair and the n a hairy belly? What will my Lily-Peta l say?"

Truthfully, it was actually possible tha t James could have been stuck like that for the rest of his days but I knew he w ouldn't. It had taken me six weeks to ge t to the stage that he had achieved in u nder an hour. That boy was a transfigura tion prodigy! I was pretty certain he co uld get rid of it.

However, I didn't see any reason to tell him this and twenty minutes of panickin g, unnecessary wand waving and a bit mor e panicking later, James no longer had a furry stomach.

Together, we began practicing altering p arts of our bodies. We mostly stuck with what we knew. James soon had his ears t ransfigured and lengthened his legs slig htly. Fur covered almost all of his stom ach.

I transfigured my ears and tail as per u sual and began working on spreading coff ee coloured fur down my back. It was lon g and thick. The outer hair was coarse a nd water resistant but the inner layer w as as soft as down. It was like wearing a big fur coat but it felt so…natural .

I held my hands in front of me, picturin g what they would look like covered in f ur and sporting large claws capable of r ipping throats. I wondered how I would l engthen my face into a muzzle filled wit h sharp canines designed to tear through veins, arteries, organs, flesh and bone . Wolves were built to survive. Built to kill.

My feet collapsed from under me. I could hear James shout with surprise in the b ackground. But I couldn't pay attention to him, there was too much else going on .

Sounds I had never heard before were dri fting towards me. A mouse, hiding by the staircase squeaking softly, a male voic e whispering in the dormitory, another v oice answering.

I stared at James in astonishment.

"Amy, what happened?" He asked concerned ly, "Do you need Madame Pomfrey?"

"No, I'm fine, more than fine in fact!" I gushed, "James I made the connection! I could hear like a wolf!"

James grinned.


	7. Apologies

Hi Readers! Thank you for all reviews, follows and favourites. Unfortunately I'm currently struggling with writing so the next update probably won't be as quick. **Please review!**

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Remus and Sirius were sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall the next morning. Both had black bags beneath their eyes from the lack of sleep but other than that seemed to be in good spirits. I instantly smiled, despite my own sleep deprived night.

"I'm sorry", Moony said immediately. He was cut off by me enveloping him in a hug. He tentatively slipped an arm around my waist.

"Remus, you're forgiven, but seriously, what did we do to upset you?" I asked.

Sirius was looking at him intently.

"You guys didn't do anything. I was just in a bad mood, the moon is coming up in a few days and I failed that charms test", he explained, pulling a face.

James raised his eyebrows incredulously.

"You failed?" He snorted, "Well there's a first time for everything!"

"Way to be sensitive, Prongs", I said, elbowing the messy haired boy in the ribs, receiving a satisfactory yelp.

"We had a charms test?" Peter asked worriedly. I frowned, when had we a charms test? But I was so relieved to be on speaking terms with Remus again that I let it slide.

"So, what's on today?" James asked loudly.

Remus and Sirius stayed silent.

"Isn't Amy meeting that Ravenclaw in the library tonight?" Peter offered up hopefully, delighted at the chance to input something into our conversation.

"Oh, yeah!" I grinned, having completely forgotten about it with the drama of last night.

I didn't notice the sudden uncomfortable silence that ensued.

"Guys, Amy and I have a confession to make", James said quietly so as to not be overheard.

"What have you done now?" Remus sighed with exasperation.

"Well, we've made progress with the you-know-what project", I confessed.

"No way!" Sirius said a bit too loudly.

"Shhh!"

"Sorry", he whispered, "When did this all happen?"

"Last night, Amy and I couldn't sleep and she had already made progress by herself and she showed me how to do it", James whispered.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Peter whined.

"Sorry, Wormy, you were sound asleep. Dead to the world you were." James said insincerely.

"What can you do?" Remus asked curiously.

"If you're willing to skip breakfast, we'll show you in the passage", I offered.

"Fine, but we're going to the kitchens later", Sirius agreed.

We left the Great Hall and slipped unnoticed into a passage we had found in our second year.

* * *

"Right, here goes", I proclaimed.

The now familiar tingling sensation flooded over me.

"Woah!" Sirius, Remus and Peter gasped together.

"I know, it's cool." James laughed. Their expressions were dumbfounded.

"Come on, we've to go to herbology", I commanded, ushering them out of the passageway.

* * *

The rest of the day flew past and it was rapidly approaching 7 o'clock. I had spent half an hour getting changed into the prepared outfit. Marlene had curled my hair around her wand, giving it a red carpet appearance. Emmeline had gotten her make-up kit out and outlined my eyes, applied rouge to my cheeks and painted my lips.

"Amy, you look gorgeous!" Lily gushed, "Have fun!" She reconsidered this statement and hurriedly added, "But not too much fun!"

I laughed out loud, and bounced down the stairs.

"Looking good, wolfie", Sirius winked as he passed me in the common room, "I'd leave quickly if I were you. Prongs is still considering that 'manly chat' with Donovan and for once I don't think he's joking".

I pulled a horrified face and Sirius laughed, going up to his dormitory.

I made my way to the Great Hall where Liam was waiting, casually leaning against the wall as though he hadn't a care in the world.

He was wearing a pale blue shirt and muggle denim jeans. His Ravenclaw robes were slung over his arm. His face lit up when he saw me and he smiled, showing every single one of those shining white teeth.

"Hey", I greeted, struggling to remain calm when I knew for a fact that I had a wide, foolish smile splayed across my face.

"So where do you want to go?" He asked, "The library?"

"Sounds good to me", I agreed and practically skipped alongside him.

The library was almost empty, save for several people in my year, a few 7th years and some quiet, studious 1st years. Liam and I claimed a table in a secluded corner, far away from the prying eyes of Madame Pince.

"So, potions", Liam stated, "Where's your trouble with them?"

"I'm alright at the theory, the written paper shouldn't pose too much trouble although I could do with some help with the third year course." I told him, "I'm brutal at actually brewing them. I just don't have the patience and then I lose count of the stirs or add something in early or forget an ingredient. The list goes on!"

"You can't be that bad", Liam sympathised.

"No, I really am! I've gone through thirty-one cauldrons since 1st year!"

He paled slightly.

"I didn't think that was possible", he said weakly.

"Afraid so", I grimaced, "Anyways, what do you find difficult in Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

"Everything I can't learn from a book!" He said, "I can study the theory and can hold my own on the written paper but I'm completely useless at the practicals."

"That's ok! I love duelling and defensive spells, I'm just glad that you don't need too much help with the theory. Not that I mind Defence, but theory is always tedious."

"I know", he groaned. "Where can we practice defensive spells though? I'm sure Slughorn will let us brew potions in the dungeons. Are you in the 'Slug Club'?"

"Yup", I replied popping the 'p', "Are you?"

He nodded.

"Well I know of a secret room that is definitely big enough to duel in. We can practice spells there, it's on the 4th floor by that statue of Merlin, all you have to do is tickle his toes!" I decided "Come on, I'll show you."

Without thinking, I grabbed his hand and dodging Madame Pince's glare we jogged out of her haven.


	8. Stolen Kisses and Shocking Patronuses

_Hi Readers. Thanks to Mystic Viccer for the helpful review, I'm actually writing chapter 16 at the moment but I modified this chapter slightly thanks to your advice. Thankfully I've gotten over my writer's block and chapter 15 is the longest chapter yet! Enjoy!_

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The tutoring session with Liam had gone perfectly. We had instantly clicked. There were no awkward silences and not once did we stop talking.

Liam was a pureblood from a first generation family. Both of his parents are muggleborn and work in the Ministry. He has an older sister called Laura who has been training as an Auror for the past two years.

In turn, I told Liam about my friends and family. Just the basics, mind you. I carefully emitted any mention of werewolves, animagi and Marauders maps. I claimed that my father had died from a backfiring spell.

He was a fantastic listener and he was brilliant to listen to in turn. He accented his points by waving his hands in the air, a bit like James and his Irish accent was just too darn cute!

We spent the first half hour just chatting, which was fine by me. Then I helped him through several O.W.L level spells such as Expelliarmus. After that I showed him the correct wand motion for stupefy and showed him the redactor curse. He expressed his interest in learning the Patronus charm. I told him that we would have to make sure that he knew the easy stuff really well before we could go onto advanced material like that.

In turn, he chose two potions that we studied in second year and talked me through them. I brewed according to his instructions although he barely managed to prevent me from adding the eel's eyes in too early which would have solidified the potion.

We finished after about two hours. I packed up my cauldron and ingredients.

"Thanks Amy, you're a better teacher than any Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had", he smiled.

"I don't know about that".

He stepped closer.

"Well, I'm positive."

He leaned in and I don't know what would have happened if a wild-eyed James hadn't burst in the door.

"We were ambushed by Slytherins!" He exclaimed breathlessly, "Peter was hexed and Moony got knocked out, he fell down the stairs and cracked his head open. Sirius is in the Hospital wing with them, I found you on the…" he trailed off just before saying 'map'.

"On the what?" Liam prompted.

"Compass!" I spluttered, "Come on, we better go!"

* * *

I walked from class to class the next day almost mechanically. I was in a daze, something which Sirius Black was only too delighted to point out. I quickly hexed him to distract him. Liam caught my gaze across the Great Hall and winked, causing my cheeks to redden.

It was Lily who reminded me to go to Professor Tyrell's office, something that had completely slipped my mind. It was only thanks to my incredible knowledge of useful shortcuts that I managed to make it to her quarters on time.

I knocked on the door.

"Come in", the teacher permitted. "Good evening, Amy. I'm glad you turned up. Shall we get started?"

"Sure", I shrugged.

I found myself standing in a large room. The walls were covered in cream panelling and the floor was wooden. A large desk covered in neat stacks of parchment was pushed against the wall. A tabby cat lay curled up in her basket watching our every move with her intense green gaze.

"Right", she said briskly, clapping her hands together, "I trust that you brought your wand with you."

I nodded, twirling my shining were-wolf whisker core wand between my fingers.

"Good", she said approvingly, "Firstly, I wish to analyse the basics. Please disarm the mannequins opposite. Non-verbally if possible."

"Ok".

I faced the line of about ten dummies, each holding a replica of a wand in their plastic fingers.

One by one, the sticks flew out of their useless fingers and clattered to the ground.

"Excellent. Now wandless if you please".

It took a lot more effort and I had broken out into a sweat by the time the task was completed but the result was the same: sticks aligned on the ground.

Professor Tyrell took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"That is…remarkable." She confessed. "Ok, how about some basic hexes. Begin with the jelly legs curse. With a wand on the first five and wandless for the rest."

Although the mannequins didn't strictly have legs, they had clearly been enchanted for the purpose and wobbled just as a real target would have.

"Ok, now try Petrificus Totalus, the same pattern".

As before, I easily managed to complete the job with a wand although it was much harder without a wand. It took up to five minutes per dummy and a lot of concentration but finally I obtained the results.

"Right, do you think that you could manage stupefy?" Professor Tyrell asked, looking slightly weak.

"Of course", I said firmly.

The mannequins were successfully blasted backwards. It seemed to be getting easier and easier each time.

"Well done Amy", Professor Tyrell congratulated, "Have you had enough for one evening or would you like to attempt protego?"

"Bring it on!" I replied.

This time Professor Tyrell aimed her wand at me.

"I shall simply attempt to bind your legs," she informed me. "Locomotor Mortis".

Protego. Protego. Protego. I repeated silently in my mind.

Professor Tyrell jumped as the spell rebounded in her direction, missing her by inches.

"Amy Griffon", she said in disbelief, "You are one talented teenager. Is there anything else up your sleeve?"

"Expecto Patronum", I chanted.

A huge, sleek wolf exploded from the end of my wand and prowled around the perimeter of the room, turning to face me before blinking out of existence.

"There's more, but if I told you, I'd probably have to kill you", I chuckled darkly.

Professor Tyrell was speechless and from the impression I had of her, I knew that that didn't occur very often.

"I think that's enough for one night, don't you think?" She managed to say, "Same time next week."

"Thanks Professor", I said.

"Oh and Amy", she called, "Are you certain that you want to be an Auror?"

I paused. "Yes, it's almost like a vocation.", I answered firmly.

She smiled as though that was the answer she had been hoping for. "Well you shouldn't have any problems getting a position there. You've just completed the first fortnight of Auror training in less than an hour."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, the first two weeks of training is working on basic non-verbal spells, something which you can do without a wand! I was wondering if you would like to try some other branches the next time. Disguises and stealth for example. They are just as crucial as firing a good hex." She said.

"Definitely!" I enthused, "See you in class tomorrow, Professor."

Well, that had been interesting. A fortnight of Auror's training in an hour when I hadn't even taken my O.W.L's yet! I couldn't suppress the arrogant grin that crept across my face. That had felt incredible. It wasn't as hard to perform wandless magic now, although it wasn't as easy as non-verbal magic which seemed like second nature now.


	9. Dancing Diana

_Hi Readers! This is probably the longest chapter yet and was by far my favourite to write. I hope you enjoy and all Roman God information is indeed factual._

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Time, as it tended to do at Hogwarts flew by. I was incredibly busy all of the time. Liam and I met every Wednesday to study. I was getting fonder of the boy every time I met him and had a bit of a crush on him. Professor Tyrell had kept her oath and she had taught me several disillusionment spells and useful protective enchantments, saying that sometimes it's better to sidestep battle altogether.

Classes were also demanding. The teachers piled on homework assignments, insisting that the topics would come up in our exams. They encouraged us to study, but if they kept giving us so much to do, I just wouldn't have time! Defence Against the Dark Arts was a doss for me at the moment. Tyrell didn't want the others to know about my abilities. It wouldn't be great if that knowledge fell into the wrong hands, so instead I spent the class researching hexes and spells.

It was in the middle of October, in potions class. It had been a tedious hour of theory and only Lily and Snape had been paying attention to Slughorn. Eventually, a lifetime later, the class ended. I stifled a cheer and hurriedly packed my bag.

"Miss Griffon", Slughorn asked.

"Yes sir?"

"I was planning on having a little gathering for Halloween, on the 31st. Would you be interested in attending? Mr Black, Mr Potter, Mr Lupin and Miss Evans have already consented to coming. I asked them before this class, but as you were late I had to ask you now." Slughorn said, his bulging eyes twinkling in the candlelight.

"I would be honoured, Sir. I presume it is in costume."

"Indeed. I also must say, Amy that your potions have improved tremendously. Miss Evans informed me that Liam Donovan has been tutoring you." Slughorn said knowledgeably with a knowing glint in his eye.

"Yes Sir, he has been. I better go, or else I'll be late for Charms too. Thank you Sir", I gushed, a pink tinge appearing on my cheeks as I made my way towards the exit.

"You may invite someone to accompany you to my party you know Miss Griffon." He called after me.

"Thanks Sir!"

I had instantly decided that I would ask Liam to Slughorn's party. It was purely coincidental that I was meeting him in the library that very evening.

We were lounging in our now familiar sofa when I asked him.

"Liam, do you want to go to Slughorn's party with me?" The words tumbled out of my mouth at breakneck speed.

"As friends…or as more than friends?"

"As…more than friends", I choked out.

"Yes!" He exclaimed, punching the air. "I was hoping you'd say that! Merlin, do you have any idea how much I like you? I'd been gearing myself up to ask you to Hogsmeade for the past two years! I guess I'm not a Gryffindor for a reason."

"Don't be silly", I scolded, "Besides, you're my Ravenclaw".

With that I crushed my lips on to his. His lips were soft and cool. He kissed me back tenderly, resting his hands on my hips gently, as though afraid of breaking me. A small moan escaped him and I grinned. I shifted my legs and moved over until I was practically in his lap. He smiled and I eagerly deepened the kiss, oblivious to our surroundings.

Ignorant to the fact that a werewolf had run out of the library, desperately hiding tears in his devastated amber eyes.

* * *

Two weeks later, Lily, Alice, Marlene and I were getting ready for Slughorn's party. Alice was going with a 6th Year Gryffindor called Frank Longbottom whom she had been dating for almost a year and a half. Sirius had asked Marlene to go with him and Lily had asked Remus, who had accepted but made it quite clear that it was 'just as friends'.

Marlene, ironically enough, had decided to go as a cat. She wore a very tight fitting black all in one that clung to her curves. It had a tail, and she wore two sweet black ears. We backcombed her blonde hair, outlined her eyes and painted whiskers on her cheeks. Ever since Sirius had discovered that his animagus form would be a dog, he hated cats. We had already had to drag him off Mrs Norris three times in the last month.

Alice dressed up as a Muggle police officer. She wore a tight black t shirt and shorts, lethal stilettos and clipped handcuffs and a fake gun to her belt. She topped the look with daring makeup and a police hat. Frank was going to have a hard time keeping his hands off of her in public.

Lily had the most fantastic idea for a Halloween costume. She wore a short emerald green dress adorned with shamrocks, a huge green hat, knee high white socks and black heels. She held a fake pot of gold. That's right, Lily made the best use of her looks and dressed as a leprechaun.

I had racked my brains for almost a week before I decided upon an outfit. I was wrapped in a tunic style dress that fell to half way down my thigh. It was the colour of a forest, an indescribable blend of greens, golds, oranges and browns. I wore golden sandals which wrapped around my legs up to my knees. Marlene unknotted my hair and fixed it into loose girls which tumbled over my shoulders, stopping just above my arse. Lily helped me to make a diadem, it was an intricate design of nature; leaves, buds, roots, twigs, amber and gold, all preserved and weaved together, topped off by a crescent moon. I set it on my head and picked up my bow and arrow. I left my make-up natural, just lightly shading and outlining my eyes in brown.

I was the Roman Goddess Diana.

From the moment I found her, I was startled by how similar we were. She was the Goddess of hunting, childbirth, women and the moon. She was said to possess the ability to talk to and control animals. She was famous for her fondness of deer and her hunting dogs.

The moon: Moony.

Deer: Prongs.

Hunting dogs: Padfoot.

Unfortunately, she was never famous for her liking of rats.

We entered the Great Hall together. I laughed at James, who was dressed as a Gryffindor lion. Sirius was wearing a suit, cape and drastic facial make up, sporting the looks of a vampire very well indeed. Frank was a pirate, wearing ripped clothes and a red bandanna. Remus was a Roman Emperor, wearing a white tunic covered in a scarlet wrap. Liam was dressed in Slytherin green robes and sported a fake beard as long as Dumbledore's. He was Merlin.

"Amy, you look stunning", he complimented, "So this is what the famous Diana looks like." I stood on my toes to kiss his cheek.

"You scrub up well too, Mr Merlin", I teased.

"You guys ready to go?" James asked. James was 'going stag' for this party after Lily publically rejected him...again. Luckily, he hadn't been put out by Remus taking his 'rightful place' as they were only going as friends. Besides, as James saw it, it prevented Lily from being more than friends with someone for the night.

"Sure", Sirius replied, kissing Marlene on the cheek as she blushed and giggled.

Slughorn had transformed the area into a Halloween paradise. The décor easily equalled the Great Hall's. He had borrowed some of Hagrid's ginormous pumpkins, sloshed cobwebs everywhere and laid the tables with food and drink made for the occasion. Sirius and James immediately spiked the punch with Firewhiskey from Hogsmeade.

"Ah, Amy my dear", Slughorn gushed, clearly in his element. "I must acquaint you with a rather talented past pupil of mine. He will be Head Auror this time next year, mark my words."

"Why thank you Sir, but I'm afraid I need a restroom", I said courteously, hiding a smirk at Slughorn's obvious mortification.

"Of course dear, you do that."

"Care to dance?" Sirius offered, holding out a hand. I took it and he led me to the dance floor where he instantly began guiding me through a lively waltz.

"Where did you learn to dance so well?" I questioned.

"My mother and father made me take ballroom dancing lessons before Hogwarts in case the Tri-Wizard Tournament took place. Knowing me, I'd probably end up being champion and they wouldn't want me showing them up by not being able to dance." He pulled a face.

"Well the lessons paid off, you're better than I am!"

The tempo picked up and I found myself in the arms of James Potter. Unfortunately, the wild-haired boy hadn't been taught dancing like Sirius had. He daringly threw me around the dance-floor, dipping me until I was sure I would hit the floor, yet always catching me-not so gracefully-just in time. People tended to make way for James on the dance floor and that was probably the only reason that there wasn't a huge collision.

Remus was my next partner. He was a graceful dancer, never stepping on my toes and holding me very carefully in his arms. His hands remained on my waist, only moving to accommodate spins or dips that I would initiate. His deep, emotional chocolate eyes bored into mine the entire time, making a slight tinge appear on my cheeks as I subconsciously leaned into his embrace.

As the music slowed down, I was back with Liam. We swayed in time with the century old violin concerto. He leaned in and brushed his lips against mine. My arms tightened around his neck as I responded eagerly. Our tongues danced as we battled for dominance, which I ultimately won. Liam's hands began drifting south.

That's when it happened.

Not too far away from us on the dance floor, Remus and Lily were dancing. Although it was he whom had insisted that they were 'just friends', it was unmistakeably Remus who initiated the kiss. He bent down slightly to make up for the height difference and claimed Lily's painted lips with his own. They remained locked on for several seconds but it was only when Lily went to wrap her hands around his neck that Remus broke away from her. He looked horrified.

James Potter, who had been rooted to the ground moved so swiftly across the room that I thought he had apparated. He certainly wasted no time.

"YOU BASTARD!" He bellowed at Remus before punching Remus square in the face. There was a sickening cracking noise as his nose broke and a small white tooth fell to the floor.

It was impossible to tell who looked more shocked; Remus or James.

James took a wobbly step backwards. Lily stepped forward and slapped him across the cheek, hard. The ringing noise echoed across the now eerily silent room.

"You had no right to do that", she hisses venomously before helping Moony to his feet and leading his out of the room, undoubtedly to the Hospital Wing.


	10. A Night of Expected Surprises

_Hi Readers! There are three different points of view in this chapter, it was a great one to write and I hope that you enjoy it. **Please review!**_

* * *

**REMUS POV**

When Amy descended the spiral staircase that evening, my breath was taken away. I knew instantly who she was dressed as and I knew the significant meaning behind it. Her outfit was stunning, her tanned shapely legs went on for miles and her hair drove me insane. She was radiant and a Goddess in her own league.

The bubble was burst when she happily took the arm of the Ravenclaw, smiling up at him as though he were the best thing in the world and kissing him sweetly. It made my blood boil. The wolf growled, that outsider was stealing my mate from me! But I managed to supress it and turn to Lily, telling her that she looked pretty which wasn't a lie; James' eyes were practically popping out of his head.

Lily knew that something was wrong with me, she was a clever girl and I often wondered whether she knew I was a werewolf or not. I wouldn't be surprised if she did.

I tried to have a good time. I put on a brave face for the Marauders, smiled for Slughorn's camera and danced the night away with Lily. But it wasn't genuine.

One moment, I was tangoing with Lily and suddenly I had the love of my life in my arms. I became extremely aware of my less than perfect dancing. I very carefully placed my hands on her waist, terrified that if I blinked or made a sudden movement she'd be gone. I looked deep into her eyes. The candle light reflected in them, creating little pools of gold. Although I knew it was wrong, I shifted closer to her, dipping her closer and closer to me. I savoured the moment, wishing that time would freeze there and then.

Then it was over. The music modulated into a much slower and more intimate violin piece. Lily was back in my arms and Faolan was with Liam. I swayed impatiently with Lily, my stare fixated on the other couple.

They moved closer and their lips met. Her arms tightened around his neck as she openly snogged him on the dance floor. Sirius wolf-whistled. I growled.

I did the first thing that my primal instincts told me to. I spun Lily around, dipped her and brought my lips to hers. I could tell that she was surprised as she froze for several seconds before responding. I felt her tongue touch mine and I blinked and took a step backwards.

James was suddenly in front of me.

"YOU BASTARD!" He half-cried, half-shouted at me before forming a fist and ramming it into my face. I stumbled backwards, dazed, clutching my bloody nose and picking my tooth off the floor. Before I could do anything to stop her, Lily smacked him across the cheek. She grabbed my hand and led me out of the room.

** LILY POV**

The moment we were out of the room, Remus took off and I had to sprint to catch up with him, following the trail of crimson blood he left in his wake. I caught up with him when he sat on a bench, his broken face held in his bloody hands.

"Oh Remus", I sighed, sitting beside him.

"What have I done Lily?" He asked rhetorically.

"It'll be okay, let me fix your nose." I said reassuringly. He removed his hands from his face and it took a lot of effort to prevent myself from gasping. His nose had swollen to three times its normal size and his upper lip was bruised and cut.

"Episkey", I muttered. Strangely enough, Remus didn't yelp out at the sudden pain that was the result of the spell. He obviously had a high pain tolerance. I quickly used a sticking charm on his tooth and dabbed at his face with a damp handkerchief.

"You'll still have to see Madame Pomfrey", I told him sternly and then softened my voice, "Remus what was all of that back there?"

"Lily, James likes you, I thought that much was obvious." He sighed.

"No Remus, not that, why did you kiss me?" I probed gently.

His eyes widened. "Merlin, Lily, I honestly don't know what I was thinking! I just…reacted I guess." He said rapidly.

"Reacted to what?" I asked sharply.

Remus groaned and stood up, pacing back and forth as he racked his brain for suggestions as either to get out of answering the question or how to phrase his reply. Finally he reached a decision.

"Lils, you've got to keep this a secret."

"You know that you can trust me Remus", I swore.

"Thank-you." He said gratefully. "Lily, I love Amy. Sirius figured it out already. It's just…it's killing me every time that I see him kiss her. He doesn't know how perfect she is. HE DOESN'T DESERVE HER!" His voice rose in a crescendo, breaking slightly with heart felt emotion.

I pulled him in for a hug.

"Remus, you've got to tell her. It's the only way." I said softly.

"That's the thing. I can't love her. I can't condemn her like that. I just can't." He choked out.

"Remus, I know your secret. I worked it out last Winter. I know that you're a werewolf and I presume that Amy does too. Amy is beyond unfounded prejudices, you know that. She wouldn't allow one night every month ruin things if she loved you. You know that." I told him empathically.

How did you figure it out?" He gasped.

"Missing every full moon, a strange fondness for raw meat, the colour of your eyes the day before the full moon. Classic symptoms of lycanthropy." I smiled.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" He asked tentatively.

"Of course not Remus, you're my friend." I answered gently, holding his hand between two of mine in reassurance. "You are also Amy's friend, and you owe it to her to tell her how you feel".

"You know it's not that simple, Lily", he frowned, "She's with Donovan. I won't say anything, at least not for now."

"Remus..."

"No Lily, come on we better go back to Gryffindor tower before Filch catches us." Remus ordered sternly.

**SIRIUS POV**

It had been an accident waiting to happen. A bomb just waiting for the trigger. It was a night full of surprises and yet completely deprived of them at the same time.

Lack of surprise number one was when Amy and Donovan made quite a spectacle on the dance floor, making a show out of exploring each other's mouth. Remus' eyes darkened and turned wolfish with jealousy.

Surprise number one was when he suddenly kissed Lily.

Lack of surprise number two was when James boxed Remus in the face.

Lack of surprise number three was when Lily retaliated by smacking Prongs across the face.

Surprise number two was when I found Remus huddled in an armchair in Gryffindor tower, his eyes bloodshot and his voice hoarse.

Surprise number three was when he revealed that Lily knew that he was a werewolf.

It was definitely a night full of surprises and yet completely deprived of them at the same time.


	11. Hearts and Races

_Hi Readers! Please enjoy the chapter, thank you very much for reviews, they are very much apperciated._

* * *

There was a distinct air of animosity between James and Remus over the fortnight following Slughorn's party. They hadn't said more than three consecutive words to each other since their fight and only spoke to each other when absolutely necessary.

This made things horribly awkward. We hadn't practiced our animagi transformations at all. Quidditch was the worst. Remus had attended the Keeper trials without telling us and had gotten the position. The Marauders made up almost the entire Gryffindor team!

James had been proclaimed captain this year, he was the star chaser. Seventh year Josh Barley and Third year Nicola Barlow were the other two chasers. Sirius and Frank Longbottom were beaters; a deadly duo that had sent many a Slytherin to Madame Pomfrey. Remus replaced Tessa Helt as Keeper, she had just graduated from Hogwarts. I was Seeker on my trusted Nimbus.

We won our first match of the season against Ravenclaw. It had been a long winded and boring game that went on for almost seven hours before I finally beat Chang and spotted the bloody Snitch. The score was 380 to 540.

Hogwarts was growing suspicious; the Marauders had gone a record three weeks without some sort of a prank being pulled! Everyone was guarding their food and beverages with reverence and double checking their shampoo before use. Apparently they believed that it was only a matter of time before there was a prank.

On the morning of the Hogsmeade trip, the ice finally cracked. We were well wrapped up for the bitter Autumns day and were in the Great Hall when Remus finally couldn't take it anymore.

"James, I'm sorry!" He half-yelled, frustration and weariness evident in his voice, "I shouldn't have kissed Lily. I honestly didn't mean to! I've told Lily that it was a mistake and I swear on my life that it won't happen ever again!"

The Great Hall held its breath, waiting for the Quidditch star to reply. He ran a hand through his messy raven hair before replying.

"It's okay mate, look let's forget about it and enjoy Zonko's." He smiled before pouncing on the werewolf and playfully tackling him to the ground. They landed in a laughing pile of limbs. Even Professor McGonagall cracked a rare smile.

I hugged James.

"It's about bloody time you two began talking again!" I scolded playfully, giving Remus a hug once he clambered to his feet.

"Come on, or we'll be late for Hogsmeade!" Sirius ushered.

"Merlin's balls, I forgot! I was supposed to meet Liam outside his common room five minutes ago! See you guys later and don't get into too much trouble!" I exclaimed, galloping out of the Great Hall like a rampaging hippogriff.

Luckily, Liam was very patient and was still waiting for me when I got there.

"Liam, I'm so sorry that I'm late. James and Remus chose the worst possible moment to reconcile!" I puffed.

He smiled and kissed me briefly on the lips.

"It's ok, you're here now and that's what matters. Come on, let's go." He replied, although he seems insincere when he said it.

"You're not angry with me, are you?" I asked a little desperately. "Honestly, it's my fault, I lost track of time."

"Look, like I said, let's go before the whole bloody day is wasted."

For the first time, as we walked to the wizarding town, things between us were awkward. It only got worse. There was an awkward silence, broken only by our lame attempts at small talk.

I barely prevented myself from groaning out loud when he led me to Madame Puddifoot's.

"Are we going to Madame Puddifoot's?" I squeaked.

"Yup", he answered, oblivious to my discomfort.

Inside was worse. EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING was pink and covered in hearts. The little round tables were packed together so closely that you could practically smell the breath of the people at the tables beside you. I was instantly claustrophobic.

The worst thing was that everyone was so bloody lovey dovey and could not keep their hands off each other. Everyone was openly snogging across their frilly pink tablecloths. I desperately hoped that he wouldn't want me to do _that _I couldn't help but think as I eyed the couple beside us who resembled one big octopus with disgust.

Madame Puddifoot was a very small, plump lady with bleached blonde hair pulled back into a bun. She wore a long rose pink dress under a red apron. Her voice was sickeningly sweet and for some reason she was intent on tossing confetti over all of the love sick couples.

"Oooh, don't you two make such a handsome couple!" She cooed at us.

I merely scowled at her. Unfortunately she didn't notice.

"Two hot chocolates and a slice of that chocolate fudge cake please", Liam ordered, seeing as I wasn't planning on speaking to the woman. One slice of cake? Oh Merlin, I'd have to share. Everyone who knows me knows that I don't like sharing. Especially food.

"Certainly my dears", she sang.

"I need a butterbeer", I sighed.

"What was that?" Liam asked.

"Nothing. How was your Defence Against the Dark Arts test yesterday?" I had asked the question twice already.

"Not bad, I just ran out of time before I could finish describing why a manticore is so dangerous to fire crabs." He replied, again.

I just wished that the couple beside us would just stop freaking snogging! It was making me uncomfortable.

"Liam, I feel sick, I need air", I said, only half-lying.

"Merlin, you've gone as white as Nearly-headless Nick. Come on outside." He gasped, supporting me as I leaned on him.

I gulped the fresh air outside like it was going out of fashion and gradually my pulse went back to normal.

"Can we get a butterbeer?" I pleaded.

"You shouldn't drink alcohol after feeling unwell. We can get that hot chocolate if you want."

"No no, that's ok. I think I was allergic to the tablecloth. Can we go to Zonko's? Please?" I begged.

"I shouldn't really encourage you to prank." He said, his inner prefect voicing its opinion.

I leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips, shoving my chest out and fluttering my eyelashes.

"Please?"

"Fine", he groaned.

"Yes! Race you, last one there is a flobberworm!"

I took off sprinting, laughing all the way at his flabbergasted expression. Please, he looked surprised. Everyone knows that with Marauders, you have to be prepared for anything.


	12. Prongs Surfaces

_Hi Readers, thanks very much for the reviews. This is one of my favourite chapters so I hope that you like it too. Please review!_

* * *

Several days later, the Marauders and I made one of our biggest and best discoveries: The famous Room of Requirement. Remus and I worked tirelessly for half an hour trying to add it to The Marauders Map but apparently it is unplottable. Disappointing, but only a small price to pay for use of such an incredible place.

When we walked in, we were astounded to find shelves upon shelves of priceless, ancient books that contained invaluable information on animagi. Upon further inspection, we found posters on the walls of werewolves, dogs, stags, rats and wolves.

A few minutes later, another bookshelf appeared and Moony happily picked up a book on werewolves and settled into a crimson armchair that had suddenly manifested.

After concentrating for several moments, I made a thick fluffy scarlet carpet cover the bare wooden floorboards and decorated the plain white walls with intricate cream and gold panelling. A roaring open fireplace appeared, casting a warm glow on the dim room. Several candles and lamps later, the room was much cosier and almost resembled the Gryffindor common room.

I noticed Peter had a funny expression on his chubby face. He looked puzzled and studied me for a moment, debating internally whether or not to voice his problem.

"What's up Pete?" I asked.

"It's not working for me", he confessed.

"What's not working for you?" Padfoot asked curiously.

"The Room of Requirement. You made all of this, didn't you?" He said, gesturing to the Gryffindor theme.

"Well yes", I said, thinking, "Wormtail, what exactly did you want?"

"A cheese sandwich and a slice of chocolate cake." He said dreamily.

"No wonder it didn't work dumbo, Food is the first of the five principal exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration", James snorted, shaking his head. "Honestly Wormtail, you're rubbish at transfiguration. Food is one of the few things that the room can't provide."

"Oh", Peter said, disappointment lacing his voice, "Can we go to the kitchens afterwards then?"

"Guys, shouldn't you get started?" Moony called, his eyes fixated upon the book on his lap.

"Right, meditation time", I groaned.

The four of us took a potion. It had taken us two months to brew and required us to source the most bizarre of ingredients. We had to order some such as Manticore toe nail and Thestral saliva from the blackmarket in Knockturn Alley. We had used a post office owl and Snape's name in case the order was traced to us. It hadn't been easy, but we're not Marauders for nothing.

Luckily, we made enough so that we only need brew it once. It was designed to enhance concentration and was henceforth banned alongside Felix Felicis to be used in official competitions or examinations. It also made the animagus meditation far easier and helped strengthen the connection between human and inner animal.

We sat cross-legged on mis-matched cushions beside each other, our eyelids drooping as the potion took effect.

I saw a large, tawny, amber eyed wolf trot through snow in a coniferous forest. Its ears were alert and perked as a twig snapped. A moment later a magnificent stag peered around the trunk of an ancient oak tree. It peered at the wolf through familiar hazel eyes. A gigantic, bear-like ebony grim stood beside the wolf. Its eyes were a stormy grey and reflected the forest around it. A small, fat insignificant grey rat ran between the wolf's legs. Surprisingly, the wolf growled at it, the dog's hackles rose and the stag blinked out of existence followed by the wolf and then the dog aged horribly. His fur was patched and matted, he was badly scarred and his eyes told stories of the horrors that he had lived.

My eyes snapped open and I saw that the boys were already transfiguring themselves. Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead and I wiped them with my sleeve.

James was almost there, her just had his head to transfigure. Sirius had his arms and torso transformed. Peter was working on his tail.

It got easier each time you did it and soon I had tawny fur along my back, neck, arms and legs. My ears and tail were changed too. Slowly, with the aid of diagrams, extra potions and several spells, my fingers and toes webbed together to form paws. Sharp, talon like claws capable of tearing through flesh appeared and fur erupted across my hand.

I was so distracted by my new paws that I didn't notice the last but of James' nose disappear until Sirius let out a weird whooping noise.

"PRONGS is PRONGS!" He shouted.

Indeed he was. He was colossal. He absolutely towered over me and was even taller than Sirius. His antlers were massive and would have been intimidating if I hadn't known it was James. His mahogany coat faded into a lighter brown towards his stomach and light dapples danced across his fur.

He stepped forward, and nudged me. A small step ladder appeared beside him so I used it to climb on to his back.

I had ridden horses before, but that was with a saddle and this was much higher up. Without warning, James took off, galloping at top speed through the track that had manifested before us. His huge strides ate up the ground and our surroundings blurred as we raced past them. The air whipped through my hair and James let out a joyous snort, throwing a playful buck in that almost unseated me completely.

Remus, Sirius and Peter were laughing and clapping. James came to a sudden halt and lowered himself down so that I could jump off his back. I rubbed his muzzle affectionately.

"Are you able to change back?" Moony asked him.

As quick as lightning, James replaced the stag before us.

"I certainly can!" He said confidently. "That was awesome! I felt so free. The world actually seemed like a better place. There was no war, no death eaters, no Voldikins, just freedom."

Emboldened by James' success, we began practicing with renewed vigour. We were less wary of getting stuck as we could see that it was possible to do. James coached us, giving us useful little tips on how far to go.

Before long, my entire body was covered in a thick coat of tawny hair. I finally succeeded in transfiguring my arms and legs too but I had yet to mould my body into the correct shape. I was still trying to work up the courage to change my head but I was almost there. Faolan was almost ready.


	13. Christmas Surprises

_Hi Readers! Enjoy the chapter and please review!_

* * *

Two weeks before Christmas, we were tucking into a morning fry in the Great Hall when my owl Athena swooped down and dropped a letter into my tea. I cursed and performed a quick drying spell before opening the tea stained parchment.

_ Dear Amy,_

_ Darling, I would love to see you over the Christmas but I am concerned about your safety if you were to come home. I think it would be safest for you to stay in Hogwarts. There have been several more Death Eater attacks that the Ministry has hushed up. I wrote to your friend's parents and the four boys and Lily are to remain in Hogwarts too. _

_I'll send you your Christmas present on Christmas Eve, don't you dare open it until Christmas morning though young lady! Don't sneak out after curfew and for heavens sake start studying! I won't give you a lecture but your O.W.L's are rapidly approaching. You need to think about your future._

_ Take care sweetheart,_

_ All my love,_

_ Mum_

"What's up Amy? Who's the letter from?" James asked.

"My mum, looks like we're all spending Christmas at Hogwarts this year", I informed them.

"Awesome! I wonder what their turkey and ham will be like. They better have Christmas pudding." Peter said fervently.

"Fellow Marauders, a fantastic plan has hatched in my marvellous brain", Sirius announced. "I call it: Operation Decorate the Charms Room."

"We're listening", James nodded.

"Basically, we give good ol' Flitwick a little shock. Seeing as he is small as it is, how about we enlarge the Charm's room and everything in it. We can make everyone bigger and then when he walks in, he'll think that he shrank!" Sirius explained, chortling slightly as he finished.

"Isn't it a bit demeaning for him? He's never done anything to us." Remus said cautiously.

"Yeah, it might offend him. I don't have anything against him, he's a descent teacher and doesn't give us too many detentions. He even laughed at our pranks on the Slytherin's last year." I pointed out.

"My point exactly. Look, it's O.W.L year, as much as I hate to admit it so even we can't get into too much trouble. Flitwick has a sense of humour. It'll be great!" Sirius argued.

"Well, consciences aside, what enchantments do you have in mind?" James asked sensibly.

"I found a furniture enlarging spell in this book here and chapter 34 in our transfiguration book has a human enlargement spell which we could do under the invisibility cloak as people walk into the classroom." Sirius beamed.

"Ah yes, I see a slight glitch in the plan. Won't people kind of notice if they suddenly sprout up three feet?" Remus highlighted.

"We'll have to tell them beforehand." Sirius replied.

"Yeah and Lily-Petal is really going to agree to that", James said sarcastically.

"She'll tell McGonagall", Peter whimpered.

"Leave Lily to me. I'll persuade her", I said confidently.

* * *

I cornered Lily that evening in our dormitory. Needless to say, she didn't immediately warm to the idea.

"Are you mental?" She shrieked, causing me to flinch as her voice reached abnormal heights. "Poor Professor Flitwick! I have a good mind to go and inform our Head of House immediately!"

"Loosen up Lily", I soothed, "Everyone needs a laugh with all of the stress between the war and O.W.L's."

"Humiliating a Professor in front of his students is not my idea of 'having a laugh'", Lily countered.

"He'll be proud that he taught his students so well that they can use such complex spells", I told her, slyly playing to Lily's suck-up nature. How Slytherin of me. Don't tell James or Sirius I said that.

"Ok, fine, but on one condition", Lily finally answered.

"What?"

"I get to help!"

James Potter was going to love this.

* * *

Several minutes later, Lily and I arrived in the Room of Requirement, where the rest of the Marauders were waiting.

"Wow, this is incredible. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History. Apparently Rowena Ravenclaw herself enchanted the room but its precise location was never documented and was lost over the centuries. Just like the legend of the Chamber of Secrets, although that one was Slytherin's doing", Lily said in awe.

"Lily?"

"Evans?"

"LILY-PETAL?"

"Yes, I'm here to help", Lily confirmed.

James turned to me, "You could have told me that we would have company", he said angrily.

"Potter, ask me out and I swear to Godric I'll hex your bits off. Just be a normal human being for the next hour or so." Lily warned.

"So you think about my bits then Evans?"

"Silencio", I growled. James opened and shut his mouth in protest but no sound came out.

"Let's practice", Remus said.

An exact replica of our charms room appeared before us and we enchanted everything to treble its size. We timed ourselves and repeated it several times until we could transform the room in less than twenty minutes.

"Okay, Peter, you bribe Peeves with these Dung-Bombs to distract Flitwick and then meet us in the Charms room in exactly ten minutes." Sirius instructed. Peter saluted him dutifully and scurried off.

"Lily, are you sure about this? If we get caught you're going down with us", I warned her as we made our way to the Charms room via a secret passage.

"Honestly Amy, I don't know why I haven't done this before, it's fun!"

There was a loud noise and we turned around to see James sprawled on the floor.

"Sorry, tripped", he muttered. Yeah right, more like fell over his own feet. Lily stifled a giggle.

"Okay, stations everyone." James instructed, trying to seem responsible to Lily. "Lily, you're covering the top of the room. Amy, you take the student seating area. Remus, you're at the practical section. Sirius and I are under the cloak, transforming the students."

"Cloak?" Lily questioned, her eyes narrowed.

"_James_", Sirius groaned.

"Potter, what's so special about this cloak?"

"Prongs, just show her. She won't tell." I sighed.

"Lily, you have got to keep this a secret", James said, for once being deadly serious. Even Lily noticed this and for once kept bitterness out of her voice.

"I solemnly swear that I won't tell a soul", she promised. We paused slightly at her choice of words. James unfolded the cloak and draped it over Lily's shoulders.

"Where in the name of Merlin did you get this Potter?" She gasped.

"It's a family heirloom, it's centuries old", James began, stating the first line of his essay length description of the cloak.

"James, stations! We don't have time!" Sirius hissed.

We rushed back into our positions and swiftly transfigurated, charmed, enchanted and transformed the entire room. Once the room was sufficiently largened, we barely had room to breathe and together we proclaimed the incantation causing the room itself to treble in size. We barely had time to marvel at our success.

"Students alert!" Peter warned, trotting into the room. We swiftly trebled our own size. It was odd to have hands the size of small tables and breasts that suddenly resembled boulders. I suddenly sympathised for Hagrid.

Within five minutes, the class was full of unusually tall students wearing cheeky grins. We performed anti-laughter charms on them to prevent giggling and gave them a carefully written script to ensure that this went down in history as Hogwarts' greatest prank ever.


	14. Flitwick

_Hello Readers! Quick update as this is a shorter chapter. Please review!_

* * *

Everything was ready. The class of giddy Gryffindors and scandalised Ravenclaws were seated. Sirius had had to bribe several Ravenclaws to go along with the prank. Evidently the idea of breaking rules and offending their head of house had proved too much for them.

Soon, we could hear the usual pitter patter of tiny feet scurrying down the Charms corridor. Flitwick had arrived.

We held a collective breath of anticipation as he entered the room. Thank Godric Sirius had remembered a camera. There was a barely audible snap as he took a clear shot of Flitwick's expression.

The man's jaw had dropped to his feet and his eyes were wide with shock. Truth be told, he looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a muggle car. I could tell that everyone would be rolling around the floor laughing if it wasn't for the laughing charm.

Flitwick walked slowly and cautiously up the aisle to his desk. Twenty pairs of eyes followed his every move.

The usually composed man came to an unsteady halt before his pile of books that he usually stood on to see over his desk. They now towered over him. Indeed, he couldn't even see over the seat of the chair!

"Ahem, good morning class", he said bravely, trying to keep the quiver out of his voice.

"Good morning, Sir", piped up Adam Branning, one of the more humourous Ravenclaws. "Isn't it a lovely day Sir?"

"It is, actually", Marlene agreed.

"We should have class outside", Imogen Flood suggested.

"By the lake", Alice added.

"After all Sir, it's a _big _world out there Sir", James said smartly, an ever-present twinkle in his eyes being the only sign of his amusement.

"Sir, when are we learning shrinking charms? I was looking through O.W.L practice papers and we need to know them for both our practical and our written paper." Lily asked inquisitively. She winked at me.

"I'm planning on covering them in January, Miss Evans", Professor Flitwick answered, momentarily regaining his bearings.

"What about enlargement charms? Are they on the curriculum?" Remus questioned.

"Actually, no, they aren't covered until 6th Year", Flitwick replied. His eyebrows contracted slightly as it dawned on him.

"Horreatus", he chanted, aiming his wand at his desk. It quivered and reduced in size until it was back to normal. Professor Flitwick smiled.

"Well done, pranksters. An excellent one if I do say so myself. Fantastic use of a N.E.W.T level charm. I have to say, I have my suspicions as to who the culprits are. Mr Potter, Pettigrew, Black, Lupin and Miss Griffon please follow me."

We grinned and clambered to our feet, following the small man outside the classroom.

"Why Miss Evans, what are you doing here?" He asked in surprise.

"I'm a culprit too, Sir although I don't think that I shall make a habit out of breaking the rules", she said strongly.

Professor Flitwick shook his head.

"I see, well despite the fact that you are all clearly talented, I do have to punish you for fear that a precedent would be established. Please attend detention every evening this week." He said, his smile faltering as he contemplated how dark our futures may prove to be.

Before we knew it, Christmas arrived. I was roughly shaken awake by a raucous red-haired girl who pulled me until I landed on the floor in a tangle of duvets and blankets.

"It's Christmas!" she exclaimed.

"Mental note to self: set alarm next Christmas", I groaned, pulling on crimson robes adorned with holly.

I insisted on dragging Lily to the boy's dormitory to wake them but she insisted on covering her eyes. That was probably a good thing as when I burst through the door, James Potter and Sirius Black were standing up wearing nothing other than boxer shorts. There was a deafening silence interrupted only by Peter's pig-choking snores and the occasional sound of Moony turning the page of his novel and then everyone spoke at once.

"Amy!"

"Potter?"

"Sirius! James! Put on something, we don't want to see that first thing in the morning!"

"Why the hell is Evans here?"

A red faced James wrapped a duvet around him. Sirius whistled, completely unabashed and continued pulling on clothes.

"Sirius!" I scolded.

"What?" He asked innocently, turning to face me. Godric, that boy had abs,

"Do you have to be so… public about getting dressed?"

"Well it wasn't public until you and Evans barged in", he countered smartly.

"Yes, well, hurry up, it's Christmas!"

Several minutes later, the 5th year Gryffindors who had remained at Hogwarts for Christmas were sat in a circle in the common room.

"Presents!" Peter squeaked.

With that, we tore into the piles of gifts and boxes before us. Lily handed me a type of a remembrall as apparently she was fed up of me forgetting where I put things and then tearing apart our dormitory trying to find them.

James gave me a new pair of Quidditch boots, saying that I couldn't use my old tattered ones as an excuse for not catching the Snitch.

Peter left me a huge monstrous hamper of Honeyduke's best that would keep any normal person happy for a month. Unfortunately, I'm not a normal person so it probably won't make next week.

Sirius handed me a pair of tickets to next year's Quidditch world cup final which was to be held in France. He told me to take my mother. He had gotten the other Marauders the same present so that we could go together. When we complained that he spent too much money he only laughed and said: "It's my parents' money, I love spending it for them!"

Remus tentatively handed me a small cornflower coloured satin box. I opened it and on a silver plump cushion rested a delicate silver goblin made charm bracelet. It had a single charm on it: a full moon that had a glint of lilac in the centre of it.

"Moony, that's way too much. I can't possibly accept it", I told him in an undertone.

"Amy, don't be silly, it's for you. The silver was mixed with Wolfsbane, the plant. It should keep you safe." He said gently, fastening it around my wrist.

I pulled him in for a hug, astounded by how thoughtful he was.


	15. Faolan

_Hi Readers! Double update today as I am almost finished writing this story and want to have it all posted soon. Please review!_

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We spent the evenings following Christmas in detention. Professor Slughorn nabbed Lily to help him sort through potion ingredients whilst the Marauders spent hours cleaning suits of armour, much to Filch's evil rendition of delight. We were given cloths and cleaning detergent but by the second evening we simply cast a scourgify to do the job instead.

This left us with several hours alone with nothing to do so we decided to practice our transformations.

We were coming along nicely. James was both a great motivation and irritating distraction as he pranced gleefully around the spacious room, testing the limits of his speed and stamina. He often prodded us with his antlers or pawed the ground with a hoof if he got bored.

Unfortunately, one may find it difficult to entertain an overgrown bambi when they are concentrating on reshaping their skull.

During our fourth detention, I sighed heavily and sat back, beginning to lose that glimmer of confidence inspired by James. I studied my friends.

Peter was struggling as usual. His face had turned an alarming shade of magenta from concentration and he had the expression of a person who suffered from severe constipation. However, mousy grey fur had begun to sprout along his back and he had a horrible worm-like tail sticking out above his arse so I suppose that he had made some progress after all.

Sirius almost had it. He transformed his legs at will although he had some difficulty with his arms. Thick, shaggy jet black hair covered his body and he too had a long tail that was constantly wagging.

I studied my own transformation. I had made a breakthrough several weeks ago and now had my entire body transfigurated. My ears were also changed and slowly my skull began to lengthen. My cheek bones slowly began to mould into a more wolfish form.

For some reason, giving into the wolf completely absolutely terrified me. My father was a werewolf and I often endured discomfort and pain during the full moon. What if I became a werewolf when I let the wolf take over?

As I debated this internally, my amber eyes strayed to the corner where Remus was snuggled into a comfy armchair, a thick novel perched on his lap. His chocolate eyes moved over the pages so quickly that they were a blur.

For some reason, this familiar movement soothed me. We were doing this for him. I couldn't even try to comprehend how petrified he must be as he spent every full moon alone in the shrieking shack. When he transformed, he became a vicious, blood-thirsty mindless animal that the ministry labelled as dark creatures. When I would change, I would become a wolf with a human mind in control.

With that thought I closed my eyes and let the magic takeover. I felt barriers that I hadn't known were there disappear. There was a brief moment of pain as my mind adapted in this new form and I let out an involuntary yelp.

When my yellow eyes next opened, I was seeing the world from a whole different angle.

My sense of smell was heightened to the point that it was absurd. I could smell custard in the kitchens from here. The abandoned cleaning detergent assaulted my nostrils. I could hear Peter's heartbeat race and could almost make out the sound of the blood flowing through his body.

My body was longer and covered in a thick coat of sleek tawny fur designed to keep me warm and dry. I was shorter, owing to four legs ending in paws that contained razor sharp claws made to rip through the throats of unsuspecting prey. My head was bigger to accommodate a spectacular mouth of fangs used to deliver the final fatal blow.

In this body, I felt free, I felt natural, I felt at home but I was also dangerous.

Remus was beside me, his warm eyes shocked. His book lay on the floor, forgotten. He smelled strongly of parchment and Honeyduke's chocolate. He tentatively reached out a scarred had and slowly brought it to me. His fingers were soon tangled in the tawny fur on the top of my head. I surveyed him thoughtfully. It was odd, but I could sense that he was an ally.

I carefully gave his hand a lick, overly conscience of the dagger-like canines that my cavernous mouth now housed.

"Faolan", he breathed, in awe at my appearance. I barked back in reply, threw my head back and let out a howl. It pierced through the room and brought the other's attention to me.

"You did it, Amy!" Sirius congratulated, giving me a pat.

"Wow", Peter squeaked, slightly intimidated by the aforementioned fangs.

"Nice one Faolan! Catch me if you can!" James laughed.

He took off, transforming mid-stride and galloped ahead, his hooved clattering on the floor. I wasted no time in stretching my frame. My four paws covered the distance well but it soon became apparent that wolves were built for stamina, not speed.

I wouldn't have stood a chance at catching the speedy Prongs in an open space, but unfortunately for him, he ran out of space to run and as we weren't in the Room of Requirement, he was forced to turn around.

I managed to catch up with him and I leaped over the threat of his antlers onto his back where I playfully nipped his shoulder to boast of my victory.

At the end of the room, the other three marauders had broad grins on their faces although Sirius did look slightly wistful. It was obvious that he would conquer the most dangerous and only permanent human transfiguration spell known to the wizarding world.

We decided that we would wait until we could all transform but soon we would all be able to join Moony during the full moon. We would be able to prevent him from tearing out lumps of his own flesh. It would change all of our lives forever.


	16. The Duelling Contest Part 1

_Here's one of my favourite chapters, I hope that you enjoy it. Constructive critizsm is welcome._

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The end of the festive season and the start of the new year brought a lot of panic upon the 5th years. The reasons for this were the O.W.L's. It dawned upon me on New Year's Day that we had five years' worth of Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, History of Magic, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy and Herbology to revise. Add in two year' of studying Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies to look over and you get a panicked teenager.

Lily decided to draw me up a study timetable. I was alarmed by the prospect of 3 hours of studying a day, leaving me only an hour for homework and half an hour for eating. Anything over an hour of homework cut into sleeping time, something that I was deeply unimpressed by. It took me an hour to persuade Lily to leave enough space for Quidditch.

Lily turned into a demon overnight. She spent every spare waking moment buried in parchment, books, exam papers and marking schemes. She entered a phase of sleeptalking, muttering potion ingredients or characteristics of Devil's Snare in her slumber. James reported to me (after stalking her in the library) that she actually had a miniature fortress of books in the library. She read a page of each one and then turned the page of them all with her wand.

Remus became the study-obsessed Ravenclaw of the Marauders. Although he lacked the sheer perseverance of Lily, he would literally growl at us if we disturbed his 'study aura' and frequently forced us to test him on Goblin Rebellions and Star Constellations.

James and Sirius never picked up a book outside of class. They did, however begin actually listening and paying attention in class. They went a whole week without turning homework late and a full fortnight without detention.

Needless to say, the effect of O.W.L's is astounding.

It couldn't last long, however. Just two weeks after receiving their last pair of detentions, the two ebony haired 'heartthrobs' ambushed a certain slimy haired Slytherin who went by the name of Severus 'Snivellus' Snape.

It was just after herbology, we were walking through a relatively empty corridor when suddenly James shouted.

"Oi, Snivellus! Is your greasy head stuck in that book?"

Snape looked up and his eyes narrowed with undisguised hate.

"Oh dear Potter, how do you cope without your precious broomstick? Do you wish us to bow down at your feet or is the Quidditch cup not enough for you?" He spat venomously.

Sirius and James exchanged a look and I knew that there was going to be trouble.

"Guys, stop it", I begged.

"We'll be late for Defence", Remus added pleadingly.

James took his wand out and muttered something under his breath. Snape's heavy book flew to his face and stuck there. Snape jerked but managed, commendably, not to yelp with surprise. Sirius added a hex of his own and soon the book's cover was replaced with a different title_. '101 Antidotes'_ now read, _'101 Ways to Have Sex'_.

They roared with laughter and Remus, Peter and I finally managed to succeed in dragging them away.

Professor Tyrell wasn't too impressed when we sauntered into class ten minutes after the bell had rang.

"20 points from Gryffindor", she said disapprovingly, to a general groan from the Gryffindor crowd.

"Today class you are going to duel your partners. We have gone through the regulation duelling rules and these are to be obeyed at all times. We shall have a bit of a competition. The winner of the partner duels will have to battle against another winner and so on until we have our champion."

"I don't want any dark spells or hexes that may cause serious injury or permanent damage to the opponent. However, Madame Pomfrey will be here just in case. Please get into position and begin duelling."

"Professor", I said, "Do I have to duel you?"

"It's up to you Amy", she answered, "If you want to test yourself to your limits, you can duel me but if you would prefer to battle against someone your own age, you can battle the winner of Mr Black's and Mr Lupin's duel."

I weighed up my options carefully. I knew that I would have a very small chance of beating Professor Tyrell, yet the thought of triumph was hard to ignore. Besides, I couldn't stand the thought of hurting Remus or Sirius.

"I'll duel you, Professor", I decided.

She smiled, "I was hoping that you would say that" We stalled for several moments, watching the other duels. A few battles, such as Peter's ended within minutes. Peter bested the timid Ravenclaw girl with a well-placed _stupefy_. His chubby face was flushed with pleasure and he looked extremely proud of himself.

Lily and James' duel was most peculiar. Several minutes passed with Lily firing curse after curse at the Quidditch captain. He placed a shield charm on himself and dodged the onslaught of hexes, claiming that he could 'never hurt his Lily-Petal'. However, this changed when Lily struck him with a nasty bat-bogey hex. James reluctantly aimed his wand at Lily and sent some minor jinxes at her. She was tiring and several struck her, but James' reluctance to fight back proved his undoing and eventually Lily disarmed him, grinning triumphantly.

Sirius' and Remus' duel was easily the most interesting to watch. Right from the beginning, a steady stream of inventive spells were firing between them at a startling rate. They were evenly matched and whenever one got hit, the other did as well. Thanks to some clever transfiguration spells Sirius soon sported feathers along his torso and Remus' face was covered in nasty pus-filled boils. They were the longest duel and soon the rest of the class stopped to watch them.

Their endurance began to diminish and it began to show when more hexes struck gold. They were drenched in sweat but didn't give in, too stubborn to admit defeat.

"Stupefy!" Sirius yelled. Remus just about managed to get a shield up in time that deflected Sirius' spell back at him. He ducked, but wasn't quick enough as the beam of light caught him on the forehead, blasting him off his feet and into a wall. Remus swiftly disarmed him before helping Sirius to stand up.

"Fair play Moony, great duel", he commended groggily.

"We'll have to do that again", Remus told him.

"Excellent duelling class. Take a break for a few minutes whilst Ms Griffon and I engage in a duel."

There were several whoops and the battered class formed a circle around us. Madame Pomfrey was healing several students who had been victim to more enthusiastic duellers.

"Please take several steps backwards to give us ample room." Professor Tyrell instructed.

"Now Amy, please don't go easy on me, we'll make this interesting." She added.

"Don't worry, I won't", I grinned.

We took several steps backwards, faced each other and bowed courteously. I decided to make the first move in an effort to dominate the duel from the start by sending a non-verbal _incendio _her way.

"_Protego_", she said dismissively, waving her wand tantalisingly lazily.

My jaw set in a firm line, I sent a disarming spell at her which she sidestepped whilst sending a sneaky stunner my way. I decided to take the duel a step higher, sending a _confringo_ at her.

The duel intensified when Tyrell's conjunctivitus curse missed my face by millimetres. Eventually my cutting curse sliced open her arm from her shoulder to her wrist, leaving her with a deep open wound which instantly began to bleed heavily. She winced in pain and used a creative version of _aguamenti _to send a huge ball of water at me. It drenched me with gallons of water and I choked, my vision obscured. I quickly used an Impervius to clear my vision, but she used that moment of hesitation to strike me with a stinging hex which hit me on my thigh.

I yelped and angrily retaliated by aiming a trip jinx at her. She stumbled but recovered quickly and responded by exploding the ground at my feet, sending me tumbling through the air, the flesh at my feet burned, left red and raw. Ignoring the piercing agony, I wandlessly used magic to rise up, hover in mid-air and send a swift _expelliarmus _at her. Tyrell cursed quietly, causing Lily's eyebrows to rise to her hairline.

The disarmer whipped her wand out of her hand. It arched through the air towards the class but quickly changed direction when I summoned it. I caught it in my left hand and sent several hexes at Professor Tyrell. She dodged all of them but soon held up her hands in surrender, her usually composed face red and sweaty.

There was a slight pause where it was possible to hear a pin drop before the class, and Professor Tyrell, burst into raucous applause. Several Ravenclaws had actually taken notes on the duel and Peter was looking at me as though I were Merlin.

"Well done, Amy", Professor Tyrell congratulated, "take twenty points for Gryffindor."

Madame Pomfrey bustled her way through to me and quickly began healing my legs. A cooling sensation spread over the burn and I exhaled a breath that I hadn't known I had held.

"Round two of the duelling won't be until the end of the year", Professor Tyrell called to the class just as the bell went.


	17. Mindless Moony and Savage Snape

_**Hi Readers, a bit of Sirius and Snape action here. One of the bigger Marauder stories in this chapter and I hope you enjoy it. Please review.**_

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**Sirius POV:**

The week following the duelling class was uneventful. Amy's triumph over Professor Tyrell had spread through the gossip network at Hogwarts like wildfire and it was all that anyone could talk about for days. It had been an impressive display of combative and defensive magic and my heart was in my mouth when she got burned by the red hot eruption of the ground. It amazed me how she could use it to her advantage to end the duel.

It was the night of the full moon, and I simply couldn't get to sleep in the knowledge that poor Moony was out there all alone in the Shrieking Shack. We could hear his agonised howls faintly and they kept me awake. I could imagine him tearing himself to bits. He would never tell us how serious his injuries were, but had the scars to tell us for him. Good old Remus, never one to exaggerate.

I groaned and got up. The full moon was leering down from the sky. I pulled some robes on and left the dormitory, deciding that a late night mug of cocoa might help me to get some sleep. Fat chance.

For some reason, I was distinctly edgy. I wished that I had thought to bring James' invisibility cloak. That was me, always rushing, never thinking about the consequences. 'Reckless' Amy called it. I suppose she was right.

My instincts proved correct when just one corridor from the kitchens, I saw a shadow. I slowed down and carefully padded closer. It was none other than greasy haired Snivellus. I could almost smell him from the distance.

He was pacing around in frustration, his pale, usually emotionless face wore a pained expression and he seemed restless. He looked like Remus when he had a crossword, trying to solve a puzzle, indecisive. I always wondered what the innocent image of Gryffindor Lily saw in him, but for that split of a second I could almost see why.

Under it all, Snivellus was a schoolboy like me or James or Remus or Peter. He was bullied mercilessly by us and even some of his fellow Slytherins. He was the odd one out, like me. I was the Black in Gryffindor, he was a half-blood in Slytherin. Before I could complete the thought, I realised that I had been spotted.

"What are you doing here, Black?" Snape asked rudely.

"Out for a stroll, I could ask the same to you." I retorted smartly, deciding not to insult him until I got the idea of an 'innocent' Snape out of my deluded mind.

"Classified information, Black, in other words, not for your blood-traitor ears." Snape said smoothly before playing his trump card, "Heard from dear Regulus recently?"

"I know of no Regulus", I said firmly although my heart pricked as I said it. It was true though. I hadn't seen nor heard from my little brother in months. The Marauders were better siblings than he could ever be.

"Then it will not interest you to hear that he has decided to join the winning side when he is worthy of doing so." Snape continued, ignoring my answer.

In other words, my younger brother had pledged his allegiance to Voldemort. He would torture and kill innocents. Boy, my parents would be proud. I can't say I was surprised, but having said that, Snape's slick choice of words combined with his smug expression was like a punch in the gut.

"However, he is not the one that the Dark Lord is interested in", Snivellus said venomously, "Your dear friend Amy is. Think about it, however hard that may be for you. She is a pureblood, yes a blood-traitor but that may be changed with the flick of a wand and the help of the...imperius curse. She is a strong, capable witch and as the Dark Lord has recently found out, excellent at wandless magic. Yes, he has her marked. And of course, should she put up a fight, she could always be used for…reproductive causes."

My anger that had scarcely been controlled during this spiel of information overrode my control. I saw red. I lunged at Snape, wand at the ready. He had threatened Amy!

"Levicorpus", I growled. Snape swung upside down as though bound by invisible ropes. I punched him in the stomach several times, obtaining satisfactory grunts of pain with each blow. I surveyed my handiwork, glad to see that I had drawn blood.

"Let's finish this once and for all, _Snivellus._ Go to the Whomping Willow and tap the know at the bottom of the tree, go through the passage and we'll see who is stronger then", I growled viciously.

With that final retort, I spun on my heel and stormed away furiously. My usually quick-witted mind was jumbled from the shock of such a savage threat that had been issued by Snivellus. My train of thought was interrupted by an ear splitting howl. With a jolt I remembered that it was the full moon. I had told Snivellus how to get to the Shrieking Shack!

"Shit!" I cursed, the colour draining from my face.

I broke into a run, sprinting as fast as I could back to the Gryffindor Tower. I had completely forgotten that it was the full moon. I had only meant for Snivellus to get a fright when he got to the Shrieking Shack, not for him to be torn to pieces by a mindless Moony.

My pulse rate quickened and I lengthened my stride.

It seemed an age before I reached the tower and I could only hope that Snivellus didn't go to the Whomping Willow immediately.

I took the stairs two at a time and burst into the dormitory.

"James wake up! Quick, wake up!" I shouted, roughly shaking him awake. He mumbled something that roughly translated to 'bugger off Padfoot, it's the middle of the night'.

"Wake up! James, Snivellus knows how to get to Moony!" I screamed in frustration.

James sat bolt upright.

"What? How?" He bellowed.

"What's going on?" Peter groaned sleepily. We both ignored him.

"Come on, we've got to stop him!" James yelled. "Wormtail, go get Amy!"

Peter protested weakly but obediently scurried off to fetch her. James pulled on a jacket and sprung out of bed, still wearing his crimson red pyjamas.

"Sirius, explain on the way", James said seriously.

We sprinted out of the room, meeting with Peter and a bleary-eyed Amy at the bottom of the stairs.

"What the hell's going on?" Amy asked as she cast a disillusionment charm courtesy of Professor Tyrell over all of us.

We sprinted out of the common room.

I took a deep breath.

"Couldn't sleep. Went on walk. Met Snivellus. He threatened. Accidently told him how to get to Shrieking Shack", I confessed quickly.

Luckily we were outside, because suddenly a range of outraged responses were hurled at me.

"YOU WHAT?"

"MOONY'S GOING TO KILL HIM!"

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"

I could only pray that we weren't too late.


	18. Stormy Irises and Golden Pupils

_Hi Readers! Oh, another cliffhanger. I will update soon. Please review!_

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How could Sirius have been so stupid? Poor Remus' secret was waiting to be discovered by a Slytherin, Snivellus at that. I just hoped that Snape hadn't made it to the Shack.

Or else Remus and Sirius were in trouble.

Remus would face execution by the ministry and Sirius… well a decent sentence to Azkaban at the least, not that I could even bear to think about Sirius at the moment. Even slimy Slytherins didn't deserve to be mauled by a werewolf.

James curtly told Peter and Sirius to wait outside the Whomping Willow, his voice uncharacteristically cold and his furious gaze not quite meeting Sirius' silver eyes.

James froze the Whomping Willow with a stick, and I transformed. James remained human to be able to converse with Snape should the situation demand it. A wolf was more equipped to deal with a werewolf on short notice than a stag. I scarcely had time to revel in my new form before James took off. I broke into a run, my four paws covering the ground at such a quick pace that my surroundings became a blur.

It was eerily silent. Whether that was a good thing or bad thing I was unsure. There were no desperate pleas, screams of shock, yelps of pain or death cries but the lack of lonely howls was unnerving. I could hear James' heart pounding at an alarming pace. If I were human, I would be sweating, my hands would be shaking and I would feel faint with nerves. Good thing I was a wolf.

After what seemed like an eternity, we reached the end of the tunnel. Much to our horror, the door to the Shrieking Shack was swinging open. Snape's scent was fresh on the handle.

"Snape! Get out! There's a werewolf in there!" James shouted urgently, and rather unnecessarily.

I skidded into the room. The few pieces of scattered furniture had been ripped to shreds long ago. There was no disguising the stench of urine or the unmistakeable metallic smell of blood. Opposite me was Moony and nothing, not even the pictures in our Defence book could have prepared me for his appearance.

He looked as though he had walked straight from a horror movie. He stood on all fours and would still be up to my shoulder in my human form. His fur was patched and it was impossible to see what colour it was due to the fact that every inch of him was encased with crimson blood. Long gashes, vicious bites and purple bruises covered his form. If he wasn't so demented looking, he would have looked pitiful.

The warm chocolate eyes that I was so accustomed to were replaced by cold, yellow lupine eyes that held no spark of recognition or humanity in them. This wasn't Remus, not really, it was Moony. Moony in his true form.

I noticed his long, hooked claws. They rivalled that of a bear's in size and each talon was stained scarlet, startling evidence of the damage that they were capable of inflicting. His massive, menacing mouth housed a set of three inch canines. He was without a doubt, a creature designed to kill.

And Snape was right in front of him.

I had always scoffed at the saying 'frozen' but Snape was indeed the picture of this. He was squished against a blood stained wall, shrinking with terror, his black eyes wide and fearful as he watched the approaching snarling monster. He barely even registered James' frantic shouts. I could see him shaking from where I was, almost ten feet away.

I howled, causing Moony to stop abruptly and swiftly turn to face me. After a split second of indecision, I hurled into him. We had discussed it previously and Remus had always told us to assert our dominance from the start; it was supposed to make Moony easier to control.

Still, I hesitated to actually hurt him until I felt his claws rip into my shoulder. I growled viciously, the hair on my back standing on end. I opened my mouth into an intimidating snarl and bit his neck, I shook my head violently, involuntarily ripping the skin on his neck. The horrible taste of blood filled my mouth but I had more pressing matters.

Moony hadn't liked that unforeseen attack and seemed more than prepared to retaliate. He ignored his wounds and pounced on me in a blur of blood, fur and claws. His teeth and claws were everywhere at once and if I were human I would have been killed. I could feel numerous cuts and bites all over my body and realised that I was in serious trouble.

I wriggled fiercely and launched a counter attack of my own, but my reflexes were hindered by my injuries. Owing to my rapidly failing onslaught of defence, Moony managed to clamp his jaws around my jugular vein.

My eyes watered in pain. I could feel the air leave my lungs. My heart throbbed painfully in my chest. I offered up my final prayers. Remus would never be able to live with himself if he killed me.

If he had had the chance to bite, I would have, without a doubt, been killed that night, but luck was on my side.

A huge blur of black launched at Moony, tearing, scraping, biting and growling. Moony was flung off of me and bashed into the opposite wall. The dog looked concernedly at me through worried grey eyes before distracting Moony with a bite to his leg.

Sirius.

Padfoot.

I lay in shock for several long moments. My breathing was a wheeze and every time I inhaled, it felt as though I were being stabbed. I suspected broken ribs.

I clambered to my feet, swaying unsteadily. Sirius was coping much better than I had been, undoubtedly due to the injuries that Moony had sustained due to me. I hobbled out the door, closing it with a paw and transformed. I shouted at Sirius to move and shot a body-bind at Moony. He instantly went limp and fell to the ground. Sirius checked over him and I quickly healed some of the more serious gashes.

We then reluctantly left him there, carefully sealing the door behind us. The curse would wear off within half an hour.

Sirius transformed back to his human form.

"Godric, Amy, you're in bits", he gasped, rushing forward to help me and supporting my weight. He sat me on the floor and set about healing my injuries as best as he could.

"Thanks, Sirius", I said quietly but sincerely, "I don't know what would have happened back there if you hadn't…"

I didn't need to finish the sentence.

"You transformed", I needlessly pointed out.

"Yeah. Listen, Amy, about Sniv-Snape, I honestly, I wouldn't have".

"Sirius, we're best off talking about this later with the others. And Dumbledore" I interrupted, unsure whether to forgive him, hate him or be grateful to him.

He nodded mournfully. The damage was done. How long it would take to heal, none of us knew.


	19. Rock, Moon, Blood

_**Hi Readers, quick update as promised. I'm almost finished writing year five, so updates will be quick. Please review!**_

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**JAMES POV:**

As Amy pounced on Moony to keep him occupied, I grabbed a dazed Snape by the collar. He seemed incapable of both speech and movement, which was probably a good thing. I stood, transfixed, for several long moments, watching the intense battle for dominance before me.

The two wolves tore at each other, ripping shreds of skin and flesh from their bodies. A low growl from Amy reminded me that neither Snape nor I were safe when human with Moony around. There was only so much that Amy could do. And believe me, she was doing everything within her her capabilites.

It was time to get Dumbledore involved. We couldn't let Snape blab about Remus' furry little problem to all of the Snakes or else Moony would be expelled from Hogwarts before you could say 'Nimbus 1850'.

It soon became apparent that Snape was in shock. I decided to take great pleasure in stunning him and floating him alongside me through the grounds. He was so white and lifeless that it was almost as though he was dead. I shuddered when I realised that that had almost happened mere minutes ago. I gulped and my thoughts turned to Sirius.

Why the hell would he have told Snape how to get to the Shrieking Shack, and of all nights to pick, on the full moon!

What could I tell Dumbledore? I couldn't possibly let it slip that we were animagi. That would end up with us all jailed. That wasn't breaking a silly school rule, that was breaking wizarding law.

I was suddenly inspired by a rock. Yes, a rock. It was official, James Potter had hit an all time low.

I pointed my wand at it, concentrated really hard and soon it was transfigurated into a mouse. I repeated it several times until I had a wolf-like dog in front of me. Hopefully that would explain the wolf that came out of nowhere to save Snape. Hopefully.

Soon, I was approaching Dumbledore's office. Miraculously, I hadn't encountered Filch or any Professors. That would have been disastrous. Even a Marauder would find it tricky to explain to a Professor precisely why your arch enemy resembles a corpse and is floating beside you.

I quickly realised that I didn't know what the password to Dumbledore's office was. From previous experience I knew that it would be some sort of confectionary.

"Pumpkin pasties, liquorice wands, cola broomsticks, bob-bons" I listed irritably. "Bertie-Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs". The gargoyle stubbornly refused to open.

"Oh come on!" I said in frustration, "I need to get in. For once, I'm not here because I caused trouble, in fact I saved this slimy shit's worthless li-"

"-Good evening Mr Potter, I trust that you have a good reason for knocking at this hour. Great Merlin, what happened to Mr Snape?" Dumbledore smoothly interrupted, unable to hide his astonishment at Snape's condition.

"Sir, I can rest assure you that I only stunned him for his own safety. He wasn't harmed at all, I can promise you but I do need to speak with you", I said as sincerely as I could, trying to keep the disgust out of my voice as I spoke about Snape.

"We certainly do", Dumbledore agreed, "I shall revive Mr Snape in my office. Do come in."

"Wait for us Professor!" Amy called breathlessly, Sirius in tow. I instantly looked away.

"Follow me", Dumbledore said courteously.

He lead us past the leering gargoyles, up a spiral staircase. He unlocked up the sturdy oak doors with a deft flick of his wand. The office was large, high-ceilinged and circular. The walls were panelled and adorned with portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts whom whispered conspiratorially together as we entered. Several gasped when they spotted Snape.

Dumbledore's huge desk was place on a raised platform between which a crimson armchair was placed. A bird perch, presumably for his phoenix was to the left of it. Several official looking pieces of parchment and many books littered his desk alongside some curiously shaped golden items.

Dumbledore motioned for us to sit in chairs that had suddenly manifested before his desk. Amy sat between Sirius and I. Smart move. I was itching to hex him.

"I think that I need an explanation", Dumbledore said, seeing as none of us had uttered a word.

The silence that followed this was disturbed by a howl. Moony had awoken.

"I think that Remus answered that for us, Sir", I said earnestly.

"Ah, so you know about Mr Lupin's secret then."

"Yes sir, and this is to do with him but it isn't his fault" Amy blurted out. She blushed when all eyes turned to her.

"It's mine!" Sirius blurted out, "I told Sniv-Snape how to get to the Shrieking Shack!"

"Mr Black", Dumbledore said seriously, no trace of a twinkle in his eye, "Did you do so in the knowledge that Mr Lupin is a werewolf?"

"Yes Sir, but-"

"And that tonight is a full moon,"

"Yes Sir, but-"

"And that he spends that night in the Shrieking Shack,"

"Yes Sir, but-"

"Please explain the events of tonight, Mr Black", Dumbledore prompted. Sirius visibly took a deep breath and launched into an explanation.

"I was worried about Remus and couldn't sleep so I decided to get something to eat. I ran into Snape on the way. He provoked me Sir. He told me that…that Regulus had joined Voldemort, and that…" He trailed off.

"What happened next Mr Black?"

Sirius shot a strained look at Amy before continuing.

"Voldemort knows that Amy can do wandless magic. He knows that she's pureblood. He wants her. He wants her to join his ranks and Merlin, he wants her to…continue the blood line."

Amy and I gasped simultaneously and I held her hand so tightly that I lost all feeling in my knuckles.

"I lost it Professor. I used 'levicorpus' on him and punched him in the stomach. Then I told him how to get past the Whomping Willow, only to give him a fright though Sir, I had forgotten about the full moon by then. You've got to believe me.

I ran to get the others once I had realised my mistake. I told them what I had done."

"We went to the Shrieking Shack", I continued, "Snape was there with Remus advancing on him. I turned a rock into a wolf and it momentarily distracted them. It gave me enough time to get Snape out of there."

"I see", Dumbledore pondered, "And where do Mr Black's and Miss Griffon's injuries come into this?"

"The Whomping Willow got us, Sir", Amy lied fluently. Nice one, Amy.

"Madame Pomfrey shall take care of those injuries", Dumbledore said. "Well done Mr Potter for your life saving quick thinking tonight, your transfiguration skills are highly admirable as is your unwavering bravery and loyalty. For that I award sixty points to Gryffindor."

"Mr Black, I cannot pretend that your actions tonight were anything but diabolical. However, they were not intentionally malicious and were only in response to Mr Snape's unacceptable comments. I won't expel you as it may bring unwanted attention to Mr Lupin, but I forbid you from Hogsmeade trips for the rest of this year and I wish for you to attend detention every evening until the Summer holidays."

Sirius bowed his head.

"Thank you Sir".

"Now, I shall escort you to the hospital wing. I shall explain the events of tonight to Mr Lupin when he is in a fit state to understand them."

"Sir, what about Snape, will he keep the secret?" James asked.

"Leave Mr Snape to me", Dumbledore said.


	20. New Day, Bad News

**Chapter 20! Please review**

* * *

**REMUS POV**

I awoke the next morning in the Hospital Wing. My head was pounding and I immediately gulped down the potion by my bedside that Madame Pomfrey always left there for me.

However, something was missing.

The Marauders weren't there.

Ever since they had discovered my 'furry little problem' they had been at my bedside waiting for me to regain consciousness. I always thanked them, but I don't think that they know how much it means to me. My first thought was that something was wrong.

I had no idea how right I was.

When I tried to sit up, a stab of pain shot me in the ribs and I realised just how badly injured I was. My chest and back were wrapped in a thick layer of bandages which were positively oozing blood. The nearby bottle of skele-grow led me to suspect broken bones.

"Ah, Mr Lupin, you are awake?" came a voice. Professor Dumbledore appeared at my bedside. Perhaps he had been there all along. I yanked the bedcovers up to my chin. "How are you feeling after last night?"

"I won't lie to you Professor, it was one of my worst ones yet." I said, trying to smile. It turned into a grimace of pain. Dumbledore smiled understandingly, his sky blue eyes full of wisdom.

"I partly guessed that it would Mr Lupin for I am afraid that unforeseen events unfolded last night involving your friends and Mr Snape."

My heart was in my mouth, did I hurt somebody? _Kill _somebody? I suddenly felt the urge to vomit and retched into a bucket that the Headmaster conjured just in time. I emptied the contents of my stomach. The world began to spin around me and my vision blurred as tears welled in them.

"Did I h-hurt somebody?" I croaked, each word weighed heavily with indescribable guilt.

Faces flashed before me; Amy laughing, her head thrown back revealing teeth like pearls; Sirius winking at girls, causing them to burst into a fit of giggles; James on his broomstick, running a hand through his uncontrollable locks of ebony hair; Peter…eating a slice of cherry pie and Snape, bent over a steaming cauldron. Dumbledore had said that he too was involved.

What sort of condition were they in now? Were they conscious in a hospital bed like me? Were they in a coma, never to awaken ever again? Were they nothing but a half-eaten bloody carcass? Had they been buried? How long had he been unconscious for? The worst of all; had they been _bitten_? Sure Amy and James were animagi but what if they hadn't transformed in time? Were they doomed to the relentless curse of torture every full moon for the rest of their lives.

I felt as though I was going to throw up again.

Then it hit me.

I was going to be expelled from Hogwarts; my one chance at leading a half-normal life. Hopes of ten O.W.L's and seven N.E.W.T's ruined in one barbaric night.

Would I be jailed? Sentenced to a life of dementors, darkness and isolation. Left to go insane due to memories of better times, worse times and what could have been.

Would I be executed? Maybe that depended on how many I injured or k-killed. Death by silver axe. By an executioner. How inappropriate, I should be tortured for killing them. Maybe physical pain would soothe the agony within.

"Merlin, Professor, who did I kill?"

Dumbledore's eyes widened behind his spectacles.

"Remus, dear child, you didn't kill anybody! What happened last night is not your fault." He reassured.

I sighed as a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.

"What happened Sir?" I asked as calmly as I could.

"According to both Mr Snape and Mr Black, they met in a deserted hallway after curfew two nights ago. They exchanged unpleasant insults which led Mr Black to inform Mr Snape as to how to freeze the Whomping Willow. Mr Snape followed these orders and Mr Potter saved him from what may have been a grisly fate." Dumbledore explained.

"Sirius did this?" I said, aghast.

"I'm afraid so Remus", Dumbledore said quietly, "Would you like to talk with him? He's just outside."

"Send him in".

Within sixty seconds, Dumbledore was replaced with Sirius. Sirius looked terrible. His silky black hair was lank and almost as greasy as Snape's. His silver eves were dark and shadowed by black bags. His face looked thinner making me wonder if he had lost weight. There were a scatter of half healed scars across his face and arms and he walked with a hint of a limp.

"Moony, oh Merlin I am so sorry", he choked.

_"Muffliato_", I chanted and turned to face him, "What really happened?"

"It was Snape who started it, you've got to believe me Moony".

"Just cut to the chase, what did he say? And don't call me 'Moony'." I snapped irritably. Sirius blinked before continuing.

"He threatened Amy. Said that Voldemort wants her for either her power…or to rape her". My breath caught in my throat.

"You know the rest. We lied to Dumbledore about how we saved Snape. Amy transformed and James got Snape out of there. Amy was pretty scratched up though. I managed to transform and I, well, got there just in time to save her. That's why you're more hurt than usual, we had to defend ourselves." He finished apologetically.

"Remus, I am so, so sorry. It was stupid and reckless of me."

"Have you got any idea what I could have done? I have worked so hard to keep my secret safe and you go and tell Snape of all people? I could have killed you all! Almost did by the look of you. I can't even look at you right now!" I shouted, my voice rising in a crescendo.

"Moony, I-"

"-Please, Sirius, go, just go." I whispered.

He flashed me one more pleading glance but obeyed my wish and left the room for me to mull over what had been said.


	21. Mad Moony

Hi Readers, this is the shortest chapter yet and I would just like to mention that there is **bad language** in this chapter. I have ommitted most unsuitable language up to this point, but I also want to kee it realistic so apologies if you are offended. **Please review!**

* * *

Remus returned to the Gryffindor tower three days after the incident. During his stay in the hospital wing, he had refused to see anyone except for Sirius on the day that he had awoken. Sirius had point black refused to tell us what had been said, but from his suddenly meek behaviour, I guess that it didn't go too well.

Those three days had been the longest I had endured since the days following my father's death. I had never been more alone. Lily had tried to get me to tell her what was going on but she finally gave up after two days of me stubbornly denying her an explanation, telling me not to talk to her until I told her what was wrong.

James was confused. He desperately wanted to talk with Remus, that much was clear. He spent every free minute he had sitting in a chair outside the Hospital wing despite Madame Pomfrey sternly telling him 'Remus doesn't want visitors'. In the meantime however, he kept to himself, unsure as how to behave around the rest of us. He ran his fingers threw his hair even more than usual, and drove Lily mad with anger.

Sirius was miserable. He acted as though he had been sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban…as if that would happen! He hadn't smiled, laughed or told a joke since the incident. He abandoned whatever sort of effort he had been making in his schoolwork and didn't write anything at all on the charms test, getting a miserable 0%. His eyes had lost all sign of emotion and he was as withdrawn as his brother Regulus. It was as though he had a dementor permanently shadowing him, sucking all happiness from the world and leaving him with only cold, mindless negativity.

Peter was being a downright pain in the arse. He trailed after James and Sirius, not really saying anything but just being there. It was more than a little bit creepy. His marks, which averaged at 'acceptable' at the best of times plummeted to 'poor' and even 'troll' in history of magic without the help of his much more intelligent friends.

When Remus entered the common room after his absence, he was followed by the other three male marauders. They all went up to their dormitory, and I dutifully joined them.

"Muffliato" he said in a monotonic voice, pointing his wand at the door that he had slammed shut. His face was neutral, betraying no emotion whatsoever. Remus had the worlds' best pokerface.

You could cut the atmosphere in the room with a well placed 'diffindo'.

None of us uttered a word for several long awkward moments, each silently willing someone to say something. You could practically hear a 'whir' as our brains worked rapidly (or slowly in Peter's case). Then we all spoke at once.

"I"

"I'm sorry"

"I shouldn't have"

"It's all my fault"

"Would you all please shut up and listen to me?" Remus suddenly bellowed, instantly silencing our incoherent waffling.

"I can't be friends with you anymore. It was selfish and reckless of me to ever become so close to you all. The animagus lark must stop, immediately. Don't approach me outside of class from now on. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt any of you-or anyone else for that matter. I wanted to leave Hogwarts, but Professor Dumbledore insisted that I stay."

"Great man", James muttered. I felt compelled to agree.

"This, whatever it was, ends now. I'm no longer a Marauder." Remus finished dejectedly.

"Stop, Remus, it's my fault", Sirius pleaded, his eyes becoming startlingly puppy-like, "I told Sniv-Snape how to get to the Whomping Willow. Please don't take it out on the others."

"Too right it's your fault, _Black_", James suddenly shouted, almost tearing his hair out in frustration, "If you hadn't gone and looked for trouble, than none of this would have happened. Why the hell couldn't you just walk straight past Snape? You even had the bloody invisibility cloak!"

"You weren't there, _Potter_", Sirius retorted hotly, "He threatened to fucking _rape_ Amy!"

"For Merlin's sake Sirius!" I roared, my patience having worn thin, "I'm not a baby! I've sent just as many Slytherins to the Hospital Wing as you or James has, I can clearly look after myself. I can do wandless magic-not even fucking Voldy-kins himself can do that."

"Oh yes, I forgot, precious Amy Griffon has powers that us normal folk don't", Sirius said mockingly. "She even thinks that she can take on 'Voldy-kins'."

"Just because you can do wandless magic doesn't mean that you can take on a gang of death eaters Amy", James said quietly. "And not even Dumbledore can defeat Voldemort so what chance would you have? You're not even of age."

"Just you watch me", I spat.

"Give up the 'animagus lark'?" Sirius said sarcastically, picking in one of Remus' original arguments. "Honestly, we hardly spent a full three years undertaking the world's most complicated transfiguration just to abandon it the moment we finally fucking do it."

"Eh guys", Peter interjected.

"Not now Wormatail", James growled. "Honestly, the times you decide to actually say something. Most of the time you just fucking stand their gawping at us like we're fucking celebrities. It's bloody annoying! I don't want a permanent irritating little gawping person who gasps when you steal a snitch following me every bloody moment of every bloody day!"

Peter's lower lip trembled slightly when he said: "Moony's gone".

And so he had.


	22. A Heart of Gold

**Hi readers, here's a dose of Lily for you all! Please review!**

**LILY POV**

Something had happened. Something bad. I didn't know what it was, but I was desperate to find out. Some may say that it wasn't any of my business and that I was being nosy but I wasn't, not really.

What I did know was that Remus Lupin was a werewolf. I figured out in third year. His monthly visits to his 'sick mother' and his marauder nickname 'Moony' were obvious clues, especially for someone who gets 'Outstandings' in Astronomy. Suddenly his 'furry little problem' as Potter named it made a lot more sense. The Marauders clearly weren't famous for being inconspicuous, at least not outside of pranks.

The problems had arisen on the night of the Full Moon. I had awoken during the night to empty my bladder and noticed that Amy wasn't in her bed. I had pulled on my lavender scented dressing gown and slipped down the stairs to investigate. She wasn't in the Common Room either. By that point, I was more than a little worried. I contemplated going to Professor McGonagall but I didn't want her to get into trouble if she was just in the kitchens.

I scraped up every scrap of Gryffindor courage that I possessed and sneaked up to the fifth year boy's dormitories. Unsurprisingly, all of the beds were empty. I relaxed slightly in the knowledge that she wasn't alone. I decided to wait up to give them a stern talking to when they returned, but fell asleep in an armchair.

The next morning they were all back-except for Remus. There was a frosty air of tension around them. They weren't talking to each other and on several occasions I saw Potter shoot Black some impressive death glares. If looks could kill, Black would have been dead and buried by ten o'clock.

Funnily enough, Severus was also absent from breakfast, but knowing him he was probably with the horrible Avery and sarcastic Mulciber discussing the Dark Arts.

My curiosity was aroused, and when I saw Amy's swollen red eyes, my sympathy was too. All of my anger and irritation had disappeared by the time I had reached her.

"Amy, what's wrong?" I asked her gently, pulling her into a secluded corridor.

"Lily", she said solemnly, "You are one of my closest and dearest friends. If there was anyone I could tell, than it would be you but I am afraid that this isn't my secret to share". "Amy is someone hurt?" I asked, a hint of urgency in my tone.

"No", she said, slightly hesitantly, but with the unmistakeable hint of honesty, "No, but someone almost was. Lils, please, I can't tell you anything else."

"What about the boys? The rest of the Marauders?"

"I don't know", she answered, "We had an…argument of sorts.

"Amy, can I do anything to help?"

"No, Lils, no one can. But thank you."

I hugged her, trying to put all of my concern into the action, desperate to help the girl who was more of a sister to me that Petunia Evan ever was or could be.

* * *

My conversation with Amy did nothing but entice me into helping them even more. Later that evening, I hurried to the library before curfew to return a book on herbology that I had borrowed. To my astonishment, in the corner all alone was Hogwarts most eligible bachelor also known as Sirius Black.

He had a small bundle of books on the table before him which had clearly been abandoned. He was perched on the edge of a loveseat, staring blankly into space, either lost in his thoughts or asleep with his eyes wide open.

For the first time ever, I approached Sirius Black with friendly intentions.

"Sirius? Do you mind if I sit here?" I asked gently.

He didn't make any movement for several long moments but then, ever so slowly, nodded his head. I plonked down on to the seat beside him. "Sirius, what in the name of Merlin is going on?"

He adjusted his position slightly to meet my gaze. I had never noticed how truly beautiful Sirius Black's eyes were before. They were a stunning grey colour, flecked with little particles of silver, black and blue. They contained a variety of conflicting emotions, a burning Gryffindor recklessness and freedom underlined by something darker.

In true Sirius Black fashion, he completely ignored my question.

"You shouldn't talk to me Lily Evans." He said hoarsely, in a voice completely alien to his usual carefree self.

I blinked. "Why not?"

"Because I'm bad. I was the longest sorting hat stall in two centuries, did you know that?"

I shook my head dumbly.

"Twenty minutes, that's how long it took. The hat couldn't choose between Slytherin and Gryffindor. I always thought that it considered Slytherin because of my family." He laughed mirthlessly, "How wrong I was."

"You see, Evans, the only reason that I'm a lion is because I begged to be. I wanted to be different from the rest of the Blacks. But the truth is that I'm not the black sheep in the Black family like I thought I was. I'm just the same as they are."

"I thought that I could escape the madness that comes with centuries of inbreeding. However, clearly I failed at that just like I fail at everything else. I'm just as reckless as they are. I'm just as dark and dangerous as they are. Now I'm a prisoner in my own mind. I'm just as _Slytherin _as they are."

He hiccoughed and one lone tear slid down his haughty, aristocratic face. Without thinking, I embraced him like I had Amy. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder. He tensed up, then hesitantly snaked his arms around my waist.

"Sirius, don't ever say that ever again. You're one hundred per cent Gryffindor. You're brave and loyal and smart and funny. You're everything that anyone wants in a friend. Don't ever doubt that."

"Thanks, Lily."

"Not at all", I smiled, getting up.

As I left, I just heard him mutter under his breath.

"Boy, Prongs, you chose a right one there."

* * *

The next morning, I saw a pattern emerging. Peter was perched rigidly on a bench at a table by himself in potions. He was bent over a pewter cauldron, stirring it vigorously.

"Professor Slughorn?" I called.

"Yes, Lily dear, what may I do for you?" He asked courteously.

"I was wondering if I may partner with Peter. Severus isn't here and he looks as though he needs some help."

"Of course, my dear", Slughorn boomed, "You have a heart of gold Miss Evans."

I quickly transferred my belongings to Peter's table. His potion had turned a startling yellow colour and had the consistency of mud. I couldn't help but compare it to my deep blue, water like substance which was sure to earn me an 'Outstanding'.

Peter whimpered slightly as his cauldron began to emit an aroma of grass. I swiftly took charge, rolling up my sleeves. I added in over thirty ingredients including chopped peacock tail feathers and lake water. Forty five minutes later, the potion was a sky blue colour, not great but passable.

"Peter, how are you?"

"I'm…okay Lily. Not great, obviously. It's weird, us all not being together. I keep wandering between them. I hope they make up soon, though at this rate, we'll be lucky if they make up at all." Peter said sorrowfully.

"It'll all work out Peter", I said kindly.

"I hope so", he said glumly.

* * *

I knew that it would happen sooner or later. I would have to endure a one on one with the arrogant toerag that was James Potter. I was partnered with him in Defence Against the Dark Arts, where he could annoy me almost every day, much to his delight and my disgust.

"Potter." I said in my best stern prefect voice. "Listen to me now. Whatever the hell is going on, make it stop. Fix things between you and the Marauders or I swear to Godric, I'll lock you all into a room and only open the door when you're best friends again."

"Lily, I can't. You don't understand."

"Then make me understand!" I snapped, "Whatever it is, it can't be that bad!"

"I agree, it's worse. By the way,d'you wanna go out with me?" He flashed me a grin that would have most girls weak at the knees.

But not me. James Potter was sent to the hospital wing.

* * *

It was another entire day before Remus Lupin returned from the hospital wing. The marauders were instantly glued to his side. They went up to the boys' dormitory.

Less than half an hour later, a raging Remus emerged by himself, storming out of the Gryffindor tower. I made the split second decision to follow him, abandoning my two feet essay on bowtruckles.

Remus moved quickly, and I had to jog to catch up with him.

"Remus! Remus, please wait!" I called after him. He took several moments before his shoulders slumped and he came to a halt.

The boy looked terrible. He was deathly pale and had a half healed cut that traced his cheekbone. He was skinnier than ever.

"Remus, I want to know what's going on. Please tell me."

"Look Lily, I really can't tell you and to be honest, I just want to be by myself right now." He turned to leave.

"Wait! Remus, I know!" I half-shouted, then said in an undertone, "I know that you're a werewolf."

He froze. His lithe frame stiffened and he slowly revolved to face me.

"Lily you don't know what you're talking about."

"Your monthly visits to your 'sick mother' that just happened to be on the full moon, your marauder nickname 'Moony'. Remus, I figured it out two years ago." I smiled.

"You never said anything. You never acted differently." He said, slightly in awe.

"In this day and age, muggleborn prejudices are stronger than ever. I'm an outcast too Remus."

"Don't be silly Lily, not everyone is prejudiced against muggleborns. Ninety-nine percent hate werewolves though." He reflected sadly.

"Something has happened Remus. I know that you'll tell me one day. For now I'll be there for you all, even Potter. Please make up with them Remus. I have never seen them all looking and acting so depressed. Sirius had been almost suicidal." He stiffened at the mention of Sirius.

"It's almost curfew, I'll walk you back to the tower." He said formally.

"Thanks Remus".


	23. Marauders for Life

_Hi Readers, the story is coming to an end. Just to confirm, there will be 29 chapters with an epilogue. I will take a break before posting year 7. Please review!_

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It seemed as though the Marauders were finished, despite Lily's frequent attempts to get us to reconcile. The feud continued on for another entire month when fate intervened.

It changed everything. Voldemort was out there, stronger than any of us could admit. He had followers, lots of them, each more brutal than the next, every one of them equally willing to torture and slaughter anyone who got in their way.

He was real. We couldn't hide away under the protection of the ancient, historical castle for much longer. Before long, we would be the ones doing the protecting, we would be the adults, we would be killing, we would be dying.

Because that's what Aurors do.

* * *

It was the 25th of April. The day had been unusually warm and dry for that time of the year. A pleasant breeze ruffled through the trees, playing with the end of my long hair.

By afternoon, the weather had changed radically. It modulated into a cold, cold day. The wind reached gale force. Worst of all, a thick layer of fog floated above the ground. It brought with it an indescribable atmosphere of hopelessness, the first ominous warning that something bad would happen.

The dementors had abandoned Azkaban. Voldemort controlled them now.

All across Britain, muggles were being influenced and attacked by the malicious dementors. They didn't even see it coming. There was nothing in the world worse than a dementor. You felt them before you could see them. The warmth would be robbed of the day, the sun replaced by ominous clouds, happy thoughts extinguished and replaced with darker memories. It was enough to make someone insane.

And then they would appear, hovering above the ground, the wave of hopelessness climaxing as they neared. Billowing black bodies. Long, skeletal hands. They inhale, sensing their victim, savouring the fresh memories that they provide. They lower their hood ever so slowly and bend over the poor victim whom at this point doesn't stand a chance.

And then it ends. The dementor steals the soul of the innocent victim, stealing their hopes and dreams, robbing them from their families. Abandoning them for a fate worse than death.

And now it was happening.

The very next day, a headline was broadcasted on the wireless in Gryffindor Tower.

"Sorry to disturb 'The Warlock's' latest hit 'Eel's Eyes'. We have just received information regarding a mass Death Eater attack on the muggle city of Manchester."

_Manchester._ Peter's parents lived in Manchester.

The Common Room fell eerily silent and everyone present quickly scrambled towards the small radio.

"The attack commenced ten minutes ago when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself led a force of Death Eaters into the city. Eighty Aurors have been dispatched to the scene where they are believed to be engaging the Death Eaters. There have been a number of confirmed fatalities on both sides including: Auror Landon Robbins, Auror Cirillo Kilduff, Auror Rhonda Arterbury and no less than fifty unnamed Muggle civilians."

Lily was standing behind me, her face deathly pale, a small trembling hand covering her mouth. Her emerald eyes were wide with horror.

"Oh Merlin, those poor people", she whimpered, her voice quavering. Several of the younger 'lion cubs' had burst into tears. Lily instantly put them before herself, rushing over to where they were huddled and hugging each one it turn.

"Come here, it's okay. The Death Eaters can't get you here. I promise you that Hogwarts is the safest place that you could possibly be. The Aurors are taking care of things." Lily promised, I was unsure whether she was reassuring them or herself.

Peter's parents. Godric, they had better not been killed. I instinctively galloped up the stairs to the boy's dormitory, my heart pounding with each step.

"Peter!" I called. There was a scrambling noise as Peter clambered off his bed.

"Amy, what's up?"

"Peter, there's been an attack in Manchester. A big one. Have you heard anything from your parents? Are they all right?" I said in one breath.

Peter's face drained of colour.

"An a-attack?" He squeaked.

Seconds later, the door flung open as James burst into the room, closely followed by both Sirius and Remus.

"Peter, your parents, did you get any news?" Remus asked gently. Peter numbly shook his head, incapable of speech.

"Peter, it will be okay." I said weakly, desperately hoping that I was right. I hugged him reassuringly.

We sat in a silent circle, holding an unspoken vigil. No one moved for well over an hour. Peter had soundless tears slipping down his pudgy cheeks.

There was a tapping noise at the window. Sirius slowly got up and trudged over to let the unfamiliar barn owl in.

The owl had a letter which Sirius quickly unrolled. He read it aloud.

_ Peter,_

_ Your mum and I are alive. Our house was destroyed and Scoop (the owl) was killed, so we had to borrow a neighbour's owl to send this to you. Our street wasn't too badly affected, the Aurors got here just in time. We hid, but your mum got hit by an unfamiliar curse in the leg. We're in St. Mungo's at the moment, but she will make a full recovery. _

_ We'll live at your grandmother's house until we manage to find somewhere permanent._

_ Don't worry about us, son._

_ Dad_

Peter quite literally lost control of his limbs and sank to the ground in relief, laughing insanely.

We dived on top of him, Marauders once more for several seconds before the iciness set in again.

"Can we, y'know, hang out again?" Sirius asked in a small voice. "Remus, I am so sorry, I truly am."

"I know Sirius", Remus smiled, "It just took time. Time for scars to heal. I forgive you now. Thank you for saving Snape, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had killed him."

"It's about time!" James laughed.

"I was so scared today", I interrupted, shamelessly bursting the euphoria. "It could so easily have happened during the holidays. We could have been at home. Any one of us could have been killed, in the middle of an argument. Any one of us could have died not being a Marauder."

"You're wrong, Amy", Remus said softly, "We're Marauders for life."


	24. The Duelling Contest Part 2

**PLEASE READ AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

**Hi Readers, the reason I'm not writing year six is that unfortunately I'm at a busy time in my life and don't have enough time to write. I refuse to leave the series unfinished so this is the compromise. I hope you enjoy this chapter, please review.**

* * *

A week after our reunion, Professor Tyrell announced that we would finish the duelling competition. Everyone who had been victorious in round one was ordered to stand against a wall so that Professor Tyrell could pair us up.

Peter was paired up with a Ravenclaw named Adam, a boy famous for his charm skills. He would prove a more challenging opponent than the timid girl that Peter had beaten in the first round.

Remus was faced with my roommate, Marlene McKinnon. The tall, blonde girl had excellent reflexes that enabled her to dodge most attacks, but her aim often let her down. Despite her above-average level at duelling, she would be easy compared to Sirius.

Professor Tyrell paired me up with Lily. Lily's appearance was deceptive, she was one of the most brutal duellers in the room. She was relentless with her fire, never giving her opponent a chance to aim at her. She had a large repertoire of unpleasant jinxes, never having used the same one twice on James.

We lined up opposite each other.

"I'm not going easy on you just because we're friends Amy", she warned.

"Neither am I", I said in agreement, "I'm in it to win it."

"Positions duellers!" Professor Tyrells amplified voice rang through the room, "On the count of three, one-two-three!"

As I had predicted, Lily had fired a stunner right away. I lazily sidestepped it, but several seconds later was struck by a stinging hex that I hadn't even seen. I winced as a prickling sensation attacked my ribs.

I decided to launch a counter attack of my own and wildly looked at my surroundings for inspiration. I remembered my transfiguration book, and decided to make my head of house proud.

"Incendio", I whispered.

I twisted the flames into daggers, momentarily distracting Lily as she tried to think of a way to deal with this unexpected attack. Whilst she was occupied, I transfigured them back into flames and sent a cutting hex her way just for good measure. The fire singed her hair, and the cutting hex sliced her down the leg. The wound flooded with blood and she cried out in pain.

Trying to ignore the guilt, I sent an immobilising spell her way. She furiously deflected it back at me. It struck my arm, giving Lily the chance to send a stunner. Luckily for me, the paralysis wore off just in time, and I dropped to my stomach to avoid the second beam of light.

I shot several minor jinxes at her, distracting her whilst I clambered to my feet. Her face was disfigured with my swelling spell.

_Levicorpus _I thought, borrowing James' favourite spell. Lily was swept off her feet by the ankle. I swiftly froze and disarmed her, holding her wand as a trophy whilst she scrambled back to her feet. Her face was as red as her hair.

"Well done, Amy" she smiled, giving me a hug as we watched the other duels.

Peter had lost his duel only two minutes in, when the Ravenclaw's clearly superior spell work claimed Peter's wand.

Remus' battle against Marlene had lasted a lot longer. A weary Remus emerged victor after disarming Marlene. They smiled and shook hands.

"Well done" Professor Tyrell said, "Now for the semi-finals. Here are the battles. Remus Lupin against Adam Lennon and Amy Griffon against Alice Summers."

I grinned at my roommate Alice. She was tomboyish, with a round face, twinkling blue eyes, a beaming smile and short black hair. Her ambition was to be an Auror and judging by her previous duelling, she wouldn't be a pushover.

"Good luck, Alice", I smiled. She nodded back.

"Three-Two-One, duel!"

Alice duelled like a cat caught a mouse. She let me do the attacking, prowling out of my reach, waiting for a moment of weakness to strike. Her shield was extremely strong, and reflected most of my onslaught. It was several long moments before I pierced her defences with a trip jinx. Her feet were swept from beneath her and she tumbled to the ground. I grabbed the opportunity, well aware that I mightn't get another one. I wordlessly sent a disarmer at her, but she deftly rolled out of its path.

"_Stupefy_!" She shouted, trying to get enough time to stand up again. I dodged the light.

_Petrificus Totalus _I countered, wandlessly sending the attack. She didn't see it, and it hit bullseye. She froze and I disarmed her within seconds.

Muttering the counter spell, I helped her to her feet.

"Well done Amy, you're incredible! Was that non-verbal, we don't do that until next year!" Alice enthused.

"Yeah, I practiced a bit. You were amazing too." I grinned back.

"Definitely. I wonder who won the boys' battle?"

Remus had won his battle. He triumphed over the book-smart Ravenclaw with practical experience and raw instincts.

"Well done to the four semi-finalists, take 10 points each to your respective houses. You should be proud of yourselves. The final duel is between Remus Lupin and Amy Griffon, both of Gryffindor house!" Professor Tyrell announced.

Fully healed by Madame Pomfrey, and grasping tightly on to my wand, I faced Remus, mentally building myself up to attacking him. We encircled each other, our gazes burning into each other.

"Three-Two-One, duel!"

Unlike my previous duels, neither of us fired straight away. We both hesitated, and then, as though it had been planned, we each shot a disarmer at each other. Two scarlet beams of light collided, illuminating the entire room and filling the air with an ominous air of electricity.

My wand vibrated slightly in my sweaty grip as it struggled to maintain the spell. Luckily, Remus too found it difficult and broke the connection.

Then things got interesting.

We shot spells and jinxes at each other in rapid succession. Starting small, with jelly-legs hexes we swiftly built up to bat-bogey hexes, stunners and cutting curses. It was easier to dodge the attacks as we didn't have time to deflect them.

I shot a redactor curse at his feet, which blasted him into the wall but a stray burning hex caught my right shoulder. I gasped as pain comparable to the bite of several army ants flooded my wand arm.

A beam of light narrowly missing the side of my head brought me back to earth. I swapped my wand into my left hand, where it felt oddly out of place. I retaliated with several stunners and a bat-bogey hex which struck true.

Remus was distracted by the vile repercussions of the curse and I quickly used that to my advantage by shooting body-binds, disarmers and whatever else came to mind. Remus was a true warrior though, and managed to conjure a strong shield and combat the curse that he was affected by at the same time.

The battle continued on for fifteen tedious minutes. I was reluctant to use wandless magic, it was an unfair advantage that I would not use against such a loyal friend. I was however, prepared to use Slytherin-worthy tactics to win the duel.

Judging my timing perfectly, I rolled out of the path of a disarmer, into a _flippendo_. I was instantly blown back off my feet. Whilst in mid-air, I pointed my wand at myself, muttering one of the spells Professor Tyrell had taught to me. I disillusioned myself. I hit the floor hard, aggravating my shoulder wound and opening several new nicks. I would be black and blue by tomorrow.

I could hear several gasps as the class realised that I was invisible. Remus was vigilant, clearly racking his brains for a counter attack suitable for when you couldn't see your opponent. I had to be quick.

I slipped around him, giving his wand a wide berth.

_"Stupefy!" _I shouted just as Remus yelled _finite incantatem._

Luckily for me, Remus didn't have a chance to avoid a stunner at such close range. Just as I became visible once more, thanks to Remus' clever solution, I disarmed him to ensure that I had won.

The class broke into raucous applause. The Marauders were grinning. Lily gave me a thumbs up and Sirius wolf-whistled.

"_Ennervate",_ I chanted, reviving the fallen werewolf.

"Great duel, Moony" I smiled up at him.

"That was clever at the end, the disillusionment charm. I wouldn't have thought of it." Remus grinned back.

"Excellent duelling, you two and well done Amy. Take twenty points each to Gryffindor." Professor Tyrell said, her face breaking into a beaming smile. "Class dismissed."


	25. Moony to the Rescue

_Hi Readers! Please review, I'm currently editing the epilogue, so this story will be completed very soon._

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The next few weeks passed in a blur, something that I had learned to associate with Hogwarts. The O.W.L's occupied most of my free time. I spent an average of two and a half hours studying every day. On top of that, homework took up to two hours. I also had other commitments such as Quidditch and Professor Tyrell's additional lessons. Altogether, I was permanently exhausted.

Unfortunately, this left me with very little spare time to spend with Liam. Luckily, as a Ravenclaw, he didn't seem too put out by spending most evenings in the library with me whilst I studied.

One evening, Liam and I were in the library. I had bribed the Marauders with chocolate frogs to get them to stay away from us. Even they had graced the library with their presence.

"It's almost curfew, Amy", Liam said, closing my herbology book.

"Already?" I asked, stifling a yawn as I glanced at the clock on the wall. Sure enough, it was half past nine. I stuffed my books and belongings into my satchel and slung it over my shoulder.

"I'll walk you to your common room", Liam said courteously.

"I can manage by myself you know."

"I know that, but I'd like to", he said, slightly affronted at my snappy reply.

"I'm sorry, I'm just tired" I sighed, leaning into him as we walked through the near-empty corridors. He seemed to interpret my movement the wrong way though, as he pressed his lips against mine and snaked his arms around my waist, pulling me even closer to him.

I wriggled slightly in his hold, but he seemed oblivious. Suddenly I found myself with my back against the wall. He deepened the kiss. I deftly kicked his shin which he ignored. I squirmed furiously and bit down on his tongue so hard that I tasted blood. He quickly released me.

"What the hell, Amy?" he shouted furiously, his face red and his eyes wild.

"What do you mean, 'what the hell'? Did you not realise that I wasn't kissing you back?" I retorted, equally as angry. How dare he force himself on me like that?

"You're supposed to be my girlfriend! You haven't been acting like you are recently, so I thought that I'd remind you."

"I never said that I was your girlfriend", I seethed, placing emphasis on 'girlfriend'. "I am my own person. You have no sort of 'claim' on me."

Liam visibly bristled, as though psyching himself up for a fight.

"Fine by me!" He spat bitterly, "You're no fun these days anyway, all you do is study!"

"In case you've forgotten, my O.W.L's start in less than a month! You're supposed to be a bloody Ravenclaw!" I pointed out.

"Excuses!" Liam bellowed, "You prefer to spend time with the bloody Marauders than me! You're probably with all of them-at the same time, you little slut!"

A hot wave of immeasurable fury coursed through my veins. He didn't even see me coming. I pounced like a lithe wildcat on top of him, he toppled backwards, landing on the cold stone floor. I scratched and punched his torso, pausing only to get my wand out.

He used that split second to his advantage and turned us over, him suddenly on top. Using one hand he pinned my two hands above my head, knocking my wand from my grip. He pulled his own wand out. I screamed as his cutting curse sliced my abdomen open, bright red blood instantly gushing from the wound.

Trying to ignore the pain, I focused on wandless magic. I begged my magic to force the boy out of my personal space. Another gash opened, splitting a rib in two. My roars of agony shook the castle's foundations. Surely someone would help me.

I redoubled my efforts, but the loss of blood was making my vision go hazy. I changed my goal and used a body bind on the Ravenclaw. The down side that I hadn't thought of to this plan was that he fell on top of me, his weight crushing my torn up stomach.

"Amy? Amy! What happened? Oh Merlin!" Remus' voice. I had never been so delighted to hear anyone in my entire life. He dragged Liam's limp form off me and fell to his knees when he saw the pool of blood. He prised my shirt away from the cuts, exposing most of my flat stomach and my lower rib cage. He ripped his own shirt and covered the wound as well as he could.

"Oh Godric, Amy, these are too deep for me to heal", he panicked.

"Thanks Remus", I murmured, my voice as faint as I felt. My eyes felt unusually heavy.

"Stay awake, Amy. Keep talking. Did Liam do this to you?"

"Yeah. Cutting Curse. Shit, Remus, it hurts like hell", I moaned. He manoeuvred my hand so that it was applying pressure on the make shift bandage. He then stood up and kicked the Ravenclaw in the ribs before stomping on his nose. There was a satisfactory crunching noise as his nose broke in several pieces.

"Sorry Amy, couldn't help myself. He's a bastard, said it all along." Remus said through gritted teeth. "Let's get you to the hospital wing so that Madame Pomfrey can fix you. I could probably do it myself, but Madame Pomfrey can prevent it from scarring."

"What about…Liam?"

"We'll leave him there, we'll send someone to get him," Remus decided. With that, the werewolf picked me up as though I were as light as a quill. I rested my head against his chest and could hear the steady pounding of his heart.

"Thank you Moony", I said softly, a small smile on my lips as I finally passed out from loss of blood.


	26. Scars, Ambitions and OWLs

_Double update! I just couldn't leave you with a cliffhanger! Please review._

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I awoke less than half an hour later in the Hospital Wing. True to Remus' word, Madame Pomfrey had healed the deep cuts in my abdomen, reassuring me that the marks would fade by the next morning.

My sick bed was surrounded by the Marauders and Lily, who stood as far away from James as possible. Between them all, I currently owned what seemed like half of the beloved Honeyduke's sweet shop. Remus and Lily each clutched at on of my hands.

"Amy! You gave us all such a fright! Remus came up to tell us what had happened and he was covered in blood, and he told us you'd been hurt, oh, Merlin!" Lily rambled, raking her hand through her mane of vibrant red hair like James was so fond of doing.

"You gave us one hell of a fright", James agreed, putting a loose strand of hair behind my ear in a brotherly gesture that may have seemed intimate if you didn't know how close we were.

"I'm gonna kill Donovan. You won't give out if I kill him, will you Amy? I mean, look at what he did to you! However, Remus told me that he was fairly beat up when Filch found him in the corridor." Sirius said angrily before chuckling darkly, "I'll bet Filch was more angry over the blood on the ground than the fact that someone had been hurt."

Sirius was probably right. Filch the caretaker had a hatred of anyone under the age of seventeen, and anyone above it as well. In short, Filch hated everyone except for his only ally in his goal to make all miserable, Mrs Norris.

"Yes Sirius, you can kill Donovan, but only if I don't get there first." I sighed in resignation. Sirius beamed back at me. "Remus, thank you so much for finding me. If you hadn't gotten there…" There was no need to finish that sentence. I suppressed a shudder.

"Please don't thank me, Amy", Remus said softly, breaking the silence. He took both of my small hands in one of his warm, scarred ones and looked me in the eye. "I would never let anyone hurt you."

One look at Remus' sincere chocolate eyes made me believe him. Sure enough, Professor Dumbledore flooed to Donovan's parents and suspended him for the rest of the year, given how serious the assault had been and how much worse it could have been.

* * *

Later that week, we attended our career's discussion with Professor McGonagall. I was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. I apprehensively tapped the wooden door leading to her office.

"Come in Miss Griffon".

I obediently strolled in to the office and sat in the leather chair opposite the grey haired Scottish transfiguration master. Age had lined her face, creating a path of wrinkles each of which held the secrets to a chapter of her life. The witch had seen many things.

"Miss Griffon, your grades have remained consistently high throughout your five years of schooling in this institution. You're averaging at 'Outstanding' at everything apart from potions. Do you know what you would like to do after Hogwarts?" She asked.

"I want to be an Auror", I said firmly.

"Very well, I had a feeling that you might say that. As you probably already know, to become an Auror you will be required to maintain your grades and improve your mark in potions. They only accept the best. You will be subjected to a series of real life tests, Miss Griffon. Can you cope with that?"

"I can do it", determination rang in each syllable.

"You certainly can", Professor McGonagal smiled approvingly.

* * *

Before we knew it, we were faced with the toughest fortnight of our lives up to that point. The O.W.L's commenced with the Charms written paper. I had never failed charms before, and having prepared reasonably well for it, found the paper surprisingly easy. We left the room with smiles on our faces. That evening, our first practical exam of the week took place in the Great Hall. I was introduced to a wrinkled old wizard called Professor Tofty.

First, he asked me to display the use of a levitation charm, colour changing charm and growth charm on an eggcup. Grinning at the memory of enlarging the entire charms room, I performed each test with ease. All in all, it was a good start to the Ordinary Wizarding Levels which suddenly didn't seem too bad.

Transfiguration was the next day. It was one of the ones that I was extremely confident about. I was fairly confident that I could handle simple vanishing spells seeing as I was an animagus-the supreme act of human transfiguration. The Marauders were on my side on this one. Lily on the other hand, began hyperventilating prior to entering the examination hall and was forcibly handed a calming draught.

The paper was so easy that I finished half an hour early. The hardest thing had been a question on switching spells, but even that was simple. James and Sirius were clearly of the same opinion, given that they were swinging on their chairs and grinning lazily at the world, much to Professor McGonagall's stern disapproval.

The practical went just as well. I found transfigurating a pillow so boring that I couldn't resist doing it non-verbally, giving the ancient examiner a heart-attack. I strutted out of the hall with a cheeky grin on my face and a spring in my step.

The next day was dominated by Herbology. Unlike the previous exams, the practical took place in the morning to suit some of the more temperamental plant's preferences. Other than just avoiding losing a finger to a fanged geranium, and dodging a stray devil's snare, that too went relatively well.

The theory was surprisingly tricky. I forgot several features of a fanning flower but grinned when I spotted a question on a Whomping Willow, eagerly writing a half-page essay on it.

The first three days had been undeniably perfect, but it all went haywire on the Thursday. Due to one of the examiners having an engagement later that day, the practical Defence Against the Dark Arts was to be held that morning.

I strolled into the Great hall, more confident for this one than any other. Once again, I was ushered towards Professor Tofty. The old wizard sat in a dominating leather seat.

"Miss Griffon, is it?" He croaked.

"Yes Sir", I confirmed.

"Please perform the Riddikulus Charm on the boggart within the wardrobe opposite you".

I faced the aforementioned wardrobe. The doors flung open. I gripped my wand with steely determination. Much to my astonishment, my boggart had changed. Previously a full moon, that wasn't what appeared before me.

To my absolute horror, I was faced with a dead Remus. It was replaced by Lily's corpse, pale and ghostly. Each of the Marauders appeared before me, each still in death.

I dropped my wand in shock, but luckily my wandless magic picked up on my desperation and I only had to think "riddikulus" for the conniving boggart to finally be expelled.

Thankfully, the rest of the exam went according to plan. I was required to perform several basic defensive spells such as protego and several counter-jinxes. At the end I couldn't help but show off.

"Expecto Patronum", I chanted in a loud, musical voice. A bright, shining wolf burst from my wand, more clear than ever before. It loped around the perimeter of the hall before blinking out of existence. I winked at Professor Tofty as I exited the hall, grinning as he scribbled fiercely on his parchment.


	27. OWLs

_Hi readers, this is my take on the O.W.L incident. Most of it is from the Order of the Phoenix and naturally the rights belong to the genius that is J.K Rowling. Please review._

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Later that day, we gathered in the Great Hall for our Defence Against the Dark Arts theory paper. The exam itself wasn't difficult. It was hard to concentrate with the sun shining outside taunting us through the window. It was stuffy in the room and Professor Flitwick opened the window with a flick of his wand.

I blinked and focused on the booklet in front of me. Smiling slightly at the irony, I wrote a detailed essay on the difference between a werewolf and an animagus. My hand was a blur as it flew across the parchment on its own accord. I could have written a book, but I settled for a foot and a half of parchment.

I finished by naming and briefly explaining the counter-curses to several listed jinxes. Positive that I would receive an 'O', I lounged in my chair, swinging on it slightly.

I glanced beside me where Remus sat. He was writing at an astonishing speed in his neat joined script, the essay that he was working on was about two feet long. I rolled my eyes, typical Remus.

James and Sirius were finished. They were clearly imitating Snape slouched over his parchment in a mocking fashion. Sirius pulled a face and indicated to his hair. I frowned at them.

Peter was slouched over his parchment, fast asleep and snoring slightly. The heat combined with pre-exam stress had finally gotten the best of Pete.

Eventually, the exam finished. Flitwick summoned the tests which quite literally knocked him off his feet. We laughed, but Lily and I, among some other students helped the dwarf man to his feet.

"Did you like question ten, Moony?" Sirius asked as we reached the Great Hall.

"Loved it", Remus grinned, "_Give five signs that identify the werewolf_. Excellent question."

"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" James joked cheerfully.

"Think I did", Moony replied, somehow managing to keep a straight face. "One: he's sitting in my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name's Remus Lupin".

We burst into peals of laughter. I noticed a strained look on Peter's face.

"What's up Pete?" I asked.

"I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes and the tufted tail", he said anxiously, "But I couldn't think what else-"

"How thick are you, Wormtail?" James said impatiently, "You're best friends with a bloody werewolf!"

"Keep your voice down", Remus hissed. I smacked James at the back of his head.

* * *

We settled in the shade beneath a beech tree beside the lake. Remus sighed and began reading a thick novel, Sirius surveyed the throngs of students, James occupied himself with a snitch with Wormtail watching his every mood and I nibbled at a ham sandwich.

"I'm bored", Sirius announced.

"We've still got History of Magic, if you're bored you could test me." Remus suggested, not believing for a moment that Sirius would waste a sunny day studying.

"This'll liven you up Padfoot", James said in undertones, "Look who it is…"

Sirius momentarily resembled his animagus form. If he were a dog, his tail would be outstretched, his ears pricked and teeth bared.

"Excellent. Snivellus."

"Sirius", I warned, "Leave him. I swear to Godric, don't make a scene."James sat up, the Snitch long-forgotten. "I mean it James". He ignored me.

"All right Snivellus?" James shouted. Snape reacted almost instinctively. In one fluid movement, his wand was drawn but he wasn't quick enough. "_Expelliarmus_!"

The scarlet beam of light struck Snape precisely on the arm, sending his wand flying through the air. Snape cursed and dived after the wand. Sirius laughed cruelly.

"_Impedimenta_!" He said. Snape was knocked off his feet. By now, the chaos had attracted quite a crowd of students, like pollen attracts bees. Some were laughing and pointing at the unpopular Slytherin flailing helplessly. Others were concerned. James glanced over at the lake side where Lily, her vibrant hair visible in the distance was sitting, still oblivious to the incident. I grabbed his arm.

"James, stop it, please", I pleaded. Remus and I exchanged a worried look. This was going to be disastrous.

"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" James asked rhetorically.

"I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment", Sirius said viciously, the complete opposite to the usually light-hearted boy I knew. "There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word."

This brought on another round of unpleasant laughter. Snape struggled defiantly, but was no match for the invisible binds holding him in place. He sent Sirius and James a death glare.

"You-wait You-wait", he panted, each syllable dripping with pure hatred.

"What for?" Sirius asked, a horrible smirk on his face, "What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?"

Snape cursed foully. James face wrinkled in disgust.

"Wash out your mouth, scourgify!"

"Leave him ALONE!"

Lily had finally noticed the happenings and I had never seen her so furious before. "What's he done to you?"

"Well", James deliberated, "It's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean."

All eyes were on James and Lily, the pair famous for their arguments. The pair whom people placed bets on whether or not they would ever date.

No one noticed that the impediment curse was wearing off.

"You think you're funny", Lily said, her tone as cold as ice, "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans", James said quickly, "Go on…go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

"OI!" Sirius yelled.

Snape had reached his wand and muttered a curse. There was a bright flash of light and James' face was sliced open from his forehead, diagonally across to the bottom of his face. Blood instantly welled up in the wound. James barely hesitated and suddenly Snape was whisked off his feet and dangling upside down in mid-air. There were several cheers.

"Let him down!" Lily shouted. James happily complied, leaving Snape in a heap on the ground. I went to help him, but Remus gripped my arm, trying to keep me out of harm's way. Sirius swiftly froze Snape.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily and I shrieked in unison.

"Ah Evans don't make me hex you", James said earnestly.

"Take the curse off him, then!" Lily replied smartly.

James sighed as though she had asked him to cut off a limb and reluctantly muttered the counter curse.

"There you go", he said as Snape clambered to his feet. "You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus-"

And then he said it.

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"

Lily blinked, trying and failing to keep a brave face. I could see her beautiful green eyes glistening with unshed tears. It was as though someone had ripped out her heart in front of her very eyes.

"Fine", she responded, impressively managing to keep her voice steady. "I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash my pants if I were you, Snivellus". Typical Lily. Even after been attacked with the worst insult possible by her best friend, she can't bring herself to slag them for anything worse than their pants.

"APOLOGISE TO EVANS!" James positively roared, suddenly looking the spitting image of a lion ready to pounce on its prey. He raised his wand at the cowering Snape.

"I don't want _you_ to make him apologise!" Lily spat, whirling around to face her fellow Gryffindor, "You're as bad as he is."

"What? I'd never call you a – you-know-what!" James yelped.

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can – I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK." Lily ranted, clearly beyond seeing reason. Satisfied with her reply, she turned on her heel and stormed off, her flaming curls leaving a path of fiery flames in her wake.

"Evans! Hey, EVANS!" James called. "What's wrong with her?" He turned to us, trying to look as though he didn't care when in fact his cheeks were red.

"James, leave her alone, she's upset. I'd better go after her." I defended the redhead.

"On the plus side, I can't see her being friends with Snivellus anymore", Peter pointed out.

"Ah yes, Snivellus what shall we do with you?" Sirius contemplated. I raced off after Lily, no longer having the ability to sympathise with the Slytherin. Or his tormentors.

"Lily! Lily, wait!" I shouted after the redhead.

I raced after her, grabbing her arm as I caught up with her.

"Leave me alone Amy. You were right, ok? I was wrong. You always told me that Snape was bad news and I didn't listen. I've paid the price now. I hope you're happy." Lily seethed, her emerald eyes harsh and unforgiving.

"Lily, I wasn't going to say anything of the sort", I told her, as gently as an angry Gryffindor could, "Lils, Snape is a complete bastard. There is no excuse for what he called you. You're my friend, and I would never be happy for someone to call you that, even to prove a point."

Lily's lip quivered slightly.

"Thanks Amy, I know, it's just…I can't believe he said that! I mean, I have always, ALWAYS stood up for him and this is how he repays me! Maybe Potter was right. He's just like all of his death eater friends", and on that note she burst into tears.

That was a long night.


	28. Mudblood

**Hi Readers! Another quick update, only two chapters left. Please review**

* * *

**Lily POV:**

_ Mudblood_

How could a two syllable, eight letter word cause so much offence? It wasn't the first time I had been called it. I wasn't totally stupid. I knew that Slytherins and others who agreed with the ludicrous idea of blood 'purification'. Several had even said it to my face.

But he had been my friend. My best friend.

Had. As in past tense.

I had stood up for him, through thick and thin despite knowing that he wasn't necessarily doing the same for me in the dungeons. Or the 'snake pit' as the Marauders are so fond of calling it.

I had stopped people from bullying him for his distasteful clothes, his lank greasy locks and even mocking him out of jealousy of his supreme potion skills. Honestly, that boy could become a potions master if he put his mind to it. Professor Slughorn often said it. Why else would he invite the unpopular greasy haired boy to his Slug Club when he repelled people as effectively as a flubberworm?

I had even hexed people on his behalf, especially Potter and Black. I risked my Prefect's badge for him. I ignored my friend's warnings, I put up with their obvious disapproval and I dealt with their irritatingly pitying glances. All of it for him. And that's how he repays me.

There was no way that I could forgive him. It was out of the question. We had been drifting apart for quite a while now and that was the final straw.

I couldn't put up with his 'friends' like Avery and Mulciber. He was 'best friends' with Lucius Malfoy who had graduated three years ago. Malfoy was a wealthy pureblood…and a named death eater. He killed muggles for fun, wrecked homes, tore families apart, orphaning innocent children before claiming their life too. Slaughtering people like me.

_Mudbloods._

I could picture his face as he said it. It tortured me in my sleep and haunted me for years to come. His familiar face, so tender and caring when we were alone, screwed up with such fury, the polar opposite to what I knew. His coal black eyes, usually sparkling with intelligence, cold and distant.

I didn't recognise my best friend and it sent shivers down my spine. It was like I was looking at a boggart.

_Mudblood._

He said it with such conviction, with such as sense of self-justice. He put me down to make himself feel better. That was unforgivable. Friends just don't do that to each other. Even social outcast Severus Snape should know that.

I collapsed on to my luxurious crimson four-poster bed, a place where I had always found solace after nights of study. Unfortunately, even my fairytale surroundings failed to soothe me.

"Amy, what do I do now?" I asked helplessly, my voice wobbling slightly and revealing my desperation. Amy's golden eyes fixed on me. There was determination in them, with underlying sympathy.

"You ignore him, Lils. You're the better person. If he approaches you or annoys you, use that _levicorpus_ on him to remind him of today. We won't let him forget today in a hurry." One look at the steely expression on her heart-shaped face led me to believe that my old Slytherin friend Snape had made a dangerous enemy.

"Thanks Amy", I said gratefully. She smiled understandingly and plonked down on my bed beside me, wrapping her arms around me in a comforting embrace. No words were needed. She was my sister in all ways but blood.

_Mudblood._

It really all does go down to the liquid that flows through the veins and arteries in your body. Funny how it matters so much to some and so little to others. For those like Snape, who consider those of certain birth statuses to be sub-human. And those who see blood everyday, the healers.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a doctor like my parents. I wanted to help people, to make them feel better. I was fascinated by my parents' medical instruments and used to scan through medical books in my spare time.

Petunia wanted to be a nurse. When we were eight, we decided that we would open up our own hospital. I would be the doctor and she would be the nurse. We would work together, be happy.

Now we couldn't even coexist in the same room for more than five minutes without arguing.

I still wanted to help people though. Before the career consultation with Professor McGonagall I had researched all of my options. Despite the pull I felt for the Aurors in the Ministry and the Potion's Apprentice Academy sponsored by Potions Masters, I finally decided upon a Healing internship in St. Mungo's. I could still live my childhood dream. Just without my sister's support.

Even though Petunia had long forgotten about our little childhood pact all of those years ago, I hadn't. I would heal wounds, diagnose patients, prescribe potions and dedicate every patient that leaves me in a better condition than when they entered that building to Petunia Evans. Just because she has forgotten doesn't mean that I will.

A small framed photograph on my bedside locker caught my attention. I picked it up, holding it gingerly in my hands like one might cradle a new-born baby. The two girls in it were stationary, for it was a muggle photograph. They looked to be about eight or nine years of age. One was on a swing, her long, flaming locks twisting in the air, her green eyes alight with amusement, her mouth half-open with laughter. The other girl was pushing her, she too was laughing. Her mousy brown hair was plaited into a braid and her horse-like features were relaxed.

I silently placed the picture back on the nightstand. There was no going back. It was too late for that.


	29. Sirius' Final Prank

Hi Readers! I have begun to write year seven. I'll post the first two chapters soon but won't have access to the computer for three weeks starting on the 23rd. Please review, the epilogue will be posted tomorrow!

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The rest of the O.W.L's passed without further incident. Snape the slimy git was pestering Lily at every chance he got. She had resorted to inventing her own spells to hex him with and had come up with some good ones including one that turned his nose into a beak. James and Sirius were begging me to find out how to do that one for weeks.

The funniest thing is that I actually believed that Snape was truly sorry even if what he did was completely unforgivable. No one could fake his expression seconds after he uttered the condemned word, not even the world's greatest actor.

Lily was right not to forgive him. It had reached the tipping point. The ultimatum where Snape had to choose between Lily and being a death eater to please the Slytherins. He picked wrong.

It was the last night and my roommates and I were packing the rest of our clothes into our trunks. The room looked as though a bomb had hit it. As per usual when five teenage girls are packing ten months of clothes, there were articles of clothing, magazines, shoes, bras and socks strewn all over the place.

"Does anyone know where my Keeper gloves are?" Emmeline asked, flicking her straw coloured hair out of her eyes.

"They're on the floor in the bathroom. Hang on, catch!" Alice yelled back, tossing the dragon skin gloves to Emmeline.

"Thanks!"

"Half of my knickers are missing!" Marlene shrieked, walking out of the bathroom and standing with her hands on her hips. I turned on my puppy-dog eyes and tried to look sheepish.

"Em, about that…James dared Sirius to steal loads of a girl in our year's underwear. I think he has a thing for you… I tried to stop him!" I said apologetically.

"BLACK!" Marlene roared, storming out of the dorm to pursue him, her long honey coloured hair swinging in her path.

Alice, Emmeline, Lily and I followed, pausing at the top of the spiral staircase and wincing as Sirius Black was attacked viciously by the furious blond. She pummelled his chest with her fist before giving him painful boils and hexing him so that he could barely breathe through his laughter. He surrendered after less than ten minutes, reluctantly returning her pile of lacy underwear to her. He was hexed again for winking cheekily at her and asking her out.

James was crying with laughter and Remus even stopped reading to watch the scene unfold.

The next day, the trunks were packed, owls were caged, brooms were reunited with their owners and books were hidden, not to be seen over the next two months. Our luggage formed a small mountain on the platform at Hogsmeade.

"Padfoot, I warned you not to steal her knickers!" I scolded. If he were in his dog form he would have whined and flattened his ears.

"I couldn't resist it, next time I will though-I won't be able to sit down properly for a week! Madame Pomfrey wouldn't get rid of the boils from my ass to 'teach' me a 'lesson'." Sirius said, wincing slightly in discomfort.

"In all fairness mate, I say you got off easily." James rationalised, "Marlene said that if I hadn't stopped her then she would have chopped your bits off."

Sirius yelped and paled.

"She wouldn't have", he said.

"Em, yeah she would have, you kind of stole her underwear", Remus pointed out.

"Making a banner out of them and hanging them in the common room probably wouldn't have helped", Peter supplied, grinning like a maniac at the memory.

"Well most of them were red and lacy, so what better place to display them than the red and gold common room?" Sirius asked rhetorically, snorting slightly as he pictured the flag that had half the boys drooling and pointing. Some even tried to steal a garment or two. No wonder Marlene was so furious. Peter chuckled weakly, he was one of the robbers.

"She clearly fancies me", Sirius said confidently, shaking his hair in a fashion that only he could pull off.

"Who?" Peter asked.

"Duh, Marls", Sirius said.

"Em, no she doesn't", I sang, sticking up for the victim in this mess.

"Okay, calm down, let's get a compartment" Remus swiftly intervened, eager to avoid the onslaught of 'does' and 'doesn't' that was sure to follow. Thankfully, we managed to find an empty compartment which we all collapsed into. I was sandwiched between Remus and James.

"Anyone want an every-flavour bean?" Peter offered, holding out the box of sweets. Everyone dug a hand in.

"On the count of three, three, two, one", James declared.

"Ugh, Mustard!" Sirius spat, taking a swig of water from a bottle ad spitting it out on Peter.

"Strawberry", I smiled, chewing on the bean thoughtfully. I had never gotten a horrible pink bean before.

"Caramel", James grinned, sticking his tongue out at Sirius.

"Toast", Remus decided, "Ah well, it could have been worse."

"Mmm, peanut butter and jelly sandwich", Peter said dreamily. We stared at him in slight disbelief.

"Who likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? That's disgusting!" James said, sounding like the spoilt only child that he was.

"I do", Peter said quietly.

"Hey, when do we get our OWL results?" I asked.

"The results are sent by owl at the end of the summer", Remus answered, seeing as the others were clueless.

"Oh, I don't think that I can wait til then", I groaned, stifling a yawn. My eyelids began to sag and slowly I was whisked off to the world of dreams.

"Amy, wake up. We're at King's Cross", Remus' voice cajoled. My head had slipped sideways to rest limply on his shoulder. He shook me gently. My eyes slowly opened.

"Owl me every day", I told them all, stretching my arms, "We have to meet up at Diagon Alley over the Summer".

"Definitely, good luck with the results", Remus smiled. "Do you want me to carry your trunk? It looks like it weighs a tonne!"

"Thanks but it's okay, I got Lily to charm it before we left".

"Smart move, I wish I'd done the same", Sirius called, struggling beneath the weight of his trunk.

I hugged them each in turn before joining my mother for a summer free of Hogwarts, homework and detentions.


	30. Epilogue: OWL Results

**READ AUTHOR'S NOTE AT END!**

**EPILOGUE: OWL RESULTS**

**AMY**

It was an agonising two months of getting up early to see whether or not the awaited owl had arrived yet. For the last time, I galloped down the stairs at a breakneck speed, skidding into the kitchen. There was a pleasant aroma of pancakes.

"Mum, is it here?"

It was. Perched on the windowsill was a magnificent barn owl who ruffled his feathers as I undid the parchment with trembling fingers.

"Good luck Little Wolf", mum said softly.

ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS

Pass Grades: Fail Grades:

Outstanding (O) Poor (P)

Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)

Acceptable (A) Troll (T)

AMY SOPHIA GRIFFON HAS ACHIEVED:

Astronomy: O

Care of Magical Creatures: O

Charms: O

Defence Against the Dark Arts: O

Muggle Studies: O

Herbology: O

History of Magic: E

Potions: E

Transfiguration: O

"Darling I am so proud of you! Your father is too", Mum gushed, unable to conceal the tears in her blue eyes.

I stared at the parchment, slightly in shock at the fact that I had managed an Exceeds Expectations in potions. Then I remembered to owl the marauders and Lily, quickly scribbling my results on separated scraps of parchment.

"Here Athena, there's a few deliveries for you here", said, handing the owl the parchment. She hooted in reply and took off out the window, becoming smaller and smaller until she was just a distant dot in the horizon.

* * *

**JAMES POV:**

Just like I had every morning since school finished, I awoke at the crack of dawn to practice Quidditch outside. I pulled on my newest Quidditch jersey, a limited edition Tornado's, a pair of navy tracksuit bottoms and proceeded to try and wake up Sirius.

Sirius had finally escaped from Grimmauld Place. A week into the holidays he arrived on my doorstep with his broom, owl, trunk and a purple bruise covering his swollen cheek. His mental parents Walburga and Orion Black had attempted to force him into a marriage to Stacey Crabbe, a pureblood blond bitch who graduated from Hogwarts last year. They saw her as the 'perfect' woman for their heir and as his last opportunity to do them proud.

My parents had already considered him as a son, now it was just more official.

"Wakey wakey Sirius," I sang, poking the animagus on his shoulder repeatedly. I cruelly ripped open the curtains, letting the bright early morning sun shine directly on his face. He didn't even stir. In the end I filled a muggle balloon (this weird rubber thingy) with water and splashed it on his face. He cursed and sat up, positively drenched.

That morning, we replaced Quidditch with an all-out water war.

We collapsed on the floor, completely soaked, our saturated clothes weighing us down when a loud crack alerted us to the presence of Cleo the House Elf.

"Masters James and Sirius, Miss Dorea sent Cleo to fetch you. There is owls for you", she announced in an impossibly high squeaky voice.

"OWLS!" Sirius exclaimed.

We raced down the stairs, Sirius narrowly beat me to the kitchen. Together, we ripped open the parchment.

ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS

Pass Grades: Fail Grades:

Outstanding (O) Poor (P)

Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)

Acceptable (A) Troll (T)

JAMES CHARLUS POTTER HAS ACHIEVED:

Astronomy: O

Care of Magical Creatures: O

Charms: O

Defence Against the Dark Arts: O

Muggle Studies: E

Herbology: O

History of Magic: E

Potions: O

Transfiguration: O

ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS

Pass Grades: Fail Grades:

Outstanding (O) Poor (P)

Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)

Acceptable (A) Troll (T)

SIRIUS ORION BLACK HAS ACHIEVED:

Astronomy: O

Care of Magical Creatures: O

Charms: O

Defence Against the Dark Arts: O

Muggle Studies: E

Herbology: O

History of Magic: E

Potions: O

Transfiguration: O

"Nice one, mate! We got the same!" Sirius said, comparing the two sheets of parchment.

"Oh, I'm so proud of my two boys", Dorea Potter enthused, pulling them in for a motherly hug. "We'll have to celebrate tonight!"

"Yeah, whatever, come on Sirius, we have to practice Quidditch!"

* * *

**LILY POV:**

Petunia was gone. She had left home in April to move in with her boyfriend of eighteen months, Vernon. Apparently Vernon's old bat of a mother had finally died, leaving him with a nice semi-detached house in the suburban area of Little Whinging.

Petunia had jumped at the chance to leave. My parents didn't voice it, but I knew why Petunia wanted to leave. She wanted to get away from me, the witch.

I was staring into my soggy cornflakes one morning, absent-mindedly stirring the spoon when my mother let out a yelp.

"Good Lord! Lily dear, there's an owl for you!" Mum never got accustomed to having an impatient owl knocking on the window pane.

"Open the window and let it in", I instructed. I didn't recognise the owl which hopped over to me. I frowned as I undid the parchment. "Mum! It's my results!" She dropped the butter and scrambled to my side.

ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS

Pass Grades: Fail Grades:

Outstanding (O) Poor (P)

Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)

Acceptable (A) Troll (T)

LILY MARIE EVANS HAS ACHIEVED:

Astronomy: O

Care of Magical Creatures: O

Charms: O

Defence Against the Dark Arts: O

Arithmancy: O

Herbology: O

History of Magic: O

Potions: O

Transfiguration: O

Ancient Runes: O

"Ten 'O's'!" I shrieked, dancing around the table, "I can do healing!"

"Well done, darling! Why don't you phone your dad?"

"Sure."

"We have to go shopping and get you that cauldron that you wanted", Mum continued, her face positively radiating delight.

"Thanks Mum".

* * *

**Peter POV:**

Everyone surrounded me. Their faces were beaming, they chanted my name in celebration. "Peter! Peter! Peter!" I saw James and Sirius.

"I always knew he was destined for greatness", James commented to the crowd of supporters. I held the house and Quidditch cups in the air. The girls in the crowd swooned.

"Peter! Peter! Wake up!"

I sighed as my perfect dream that would never come true was destroyed by my mother's insistent prods. "Pete, your owl has arrived with your results."

My piggy blue eyes opened and I yawned loudly. Mum passed the envelope to me, her own eyes wide with curiosity.

ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS

Pass Grades: Fail Grades:

Outstanding (O) Poor (P)

Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)

Acceptable (A) Troll (T)

PETER TIMOTHY PETTIGREW HAS ACHIEVED:

Astronomy: A

Muggle Studies: A

Charms: E

Defence Against the Dark Arts: E

Divination: T

Herbology: E

History of Magic: T

Potions: D

Transfiguration: E

"Well done Petey, poor child, you have your father's brains and your mother's good looks". I stared at her dubiously. No amount of makeup could conceal my mother's poor completion, expanding waistline, greying hair and plain watery blue eyes. My father was a bin man, the only job that he could get in the current climate. What praise I received from my mother.

Why couldn't I be like James?

* * *

**Remus POV:**

The owl stared at me impatiently, its startling amber eyes wide and foreboding. It hooted at me in annoyance.

"Go on Remy", my mother encouraged, her hands submerged in foamy water as she washed the dishes in the sink.

"You can do it son", my father added, his gaze ever pitiful. He always felt so guilty. If he hadn't insulted greyback then I wouldn't be a werewolf. I would have a chance at becoming an Auror. I could be with Amy.

I nodded and ever so slowly unrolled the parchment.

ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS

Pass Grades: Fail grades:

Outstanding (O) Poor (P)

Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)

Accepatable (A) Troll (T)

REMUS JOHN LUPIN HAS ACHIEVED:

Astronomy: O

Care of Magical Creatures: O

Charms: O

Defence Against the Dark Arts: O

Arithmancy: O

Herbology: O

History of Magic: O

Potions: O

Transfiguration: O

Ancient Runes: O

I gasped and dropped the parchment.

"What is it, son, what did it say?" John Lupin asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

"I got ten Outstandings", I muttered weakly, gripping the round breakfast table for support. I was instantly enveloped in my mother's wet, soapy arms.

"I knew you could do it sweetheart".

Smiling slightly, I decided to write to the others to inform them of the good news. My life was almost that of a normal teenager. I had friends, real friends; James, Sirius, Peter, Amy and even Lily. I was worried about grades. I was even impossibly in love with Amy Griffon.

But I was also a werewolf, and believe me when I say that that isn't normal.

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**Author's Note:**

Thank you so much to everyone who followed/favourited/reviewed. A special thanks to Mystic Viccer, Animagus of a Doe and warewolf-princess557850 who reviewed continuously. 

**Life of a Moony Lover: The Final Years, Loyalties will be the final installment in my four part series. The first two chapters will be posted on June 20th 2013.** _I must then take a three week break as I will not have internet access. Please follow me as a writer so that you will be updated. Here is the description to look out for._

Amy Griffon is the fifth Marauder. She has already been challenged but her final year at Gogwarts presents a terrifying trial of its own; life in the warring wizarding world. The ministry is corrupt, friendships are tested, no one knows who to trust. They must learn that loyalty is everything.


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